The Rifle Brigade Memorial, Grosvenor Gardens, Westminster

John Tweed (21 January 1869 – 12 November 1933) was a Scottish sculptor.

Early life

John Tweed was born at 16 Great Portland Street,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and studied at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

. He then trained with

Hamo Thornycroft Sir William Hamo Thornycroft (9 March 185018 December 1925) was an English sculptor, responsible for some of London's best-known statues, including the statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Palace of Westminster. He was a keen student of classi ...

in London, and attended the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

at the same time. Together, they created the frieze on the Institute of Chartered Accountants' building in London. In 1893 he moved to Paris with the hope of studying with

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

; this proved impossible as Rodin would only accept pupils who would spend four years under his supervision.

Personal life

In 1895, he married Edith Clinton, secretary to the

National Society for Women's Suffrage The National Society for Women's Suffrage Manchester Branch The National Society for Women's Suffrage was the first national group in the United Kingdom to campaign for women's right to vote. Formed on 6 November 1867, by Lydia Becker, the organis ...

, the first national group in the UK to campaign for women's right to vote. Also in 1895, they moved into 108

Cheyne Walk Cheyne Walk is an historic road in Chelsea, London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the River Thames. Before the construction of Chelsea Embankment reduced the width of the Thames here, it fronted ...

, Chelsea, London, and Tweed lived there until his death in 1933 aged 64.

Legacy

The first major exhibition of Tweed's work since 1934 ran from March to September 2013 at the Sir John Madejski Art Gallery,

Reading Museum Reading Museum (run by the Reading Museum Service) is a museum of the history of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire, and the surrounding area. It is accommodated within Reading Town Hall, and contains galleries describing th ...

, Reading, England. The

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

have called him the "British Rodin".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweed, John 1869 births 1933 deaths 19th-century British sculptors 20th-century British sculptors 19th-century Scottish artists 20th-century Scottish artists Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Artists from Glasgow Scottish male sculptors 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists