Lawrence Macdonald by John Hutchison, SNPG

Lawrence Macdonald sometimes Laurence Macdonald (15 February 1799 – 4 March 1878) was a Scottish sculptor.

Life

Macdonald was born on 15 February 1799 at

Findo Gask Findo Gask is a small village in Perth and Kinross in Scotland, just off the main A9 road. It is in Strathearn. There are nearby remains associated with the Roman Road to the south and the Roman Frontier on the Gask Ridge. The area was asso ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to Margaret Morison and Alexander Macdonald, a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. He was apprenticed as a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

with Thomas Gibson, who was then building the Murray Royal Asylum, outside Perth, and about this time he carved the arms of Robert Graeme on the front of Garvock House. Coming to Edinburgh with an introduction to the architect

James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 11 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Life Graham was born in Dunblane on 11 June 1776. He was the son of Malcolm Gillespie, a solicitor. He was christened as J ...

, who proved a helpful patron, he worked as an ornamental sculptor. On 26 February 1822 he entered the Trustees' Academy, Edinburgh, then on Picardy Place. In late 1822 he went to Rome to study, where he executed several busts, among others that of the

John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, KT, PC, FRS (30 June 1755 – 29 September 1830), styled Marquess of Tullibardine from 1764 to 1774, was a Scottish peer. Life and career Murray was the eldest son of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, and his ...

. In 1823, along with Gibson, Severn, and other artists, he founded the British Academy of Arts in Rome, of which he continued as a trustee until his death. After approximately four year he returned to Edinburgh, and there produced busts of Professor John Wilson and

George Combe George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a trained Scottish lawyer and a spokesman of the phrenological movement for over 20 years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and wrote a noted study, ''The Constitution o ...

, the

phrenologist Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

. In 1829, he sent his bust of John Marshall, MP, to the

Royal Academy 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 pur ...

, and he was a frequent contributor to the succeeding exhibitions. In the autumn of 1829, he exhibited in the Royal Institution, Edinburgh, his colossal group of 'Ajax bearing the dead body of Patroclus and combating 'an warrior' and other works; and he was second to his friend Charles Maclaren, editor of the 'Scotsman,‘ in his bloodless duel with Dr. James Browne, editor of the 'Caledonian Mercury,’ fought near Edinburgh in November 1829, which arose partly out of an article in the 'Mercury' (6 November) on Macdonald's works and the 'Scotsman's' criticisms upon them. In the same year he was elected a member of the Scottish Academy, where in 1832, he exhibited several busts, including those of J. Gibson Lochhart and the Earl Erroll; but he seldom contributed here, and resigned his membership in 1858. He appeared in the list of honorary members in 1867. At this time he is shown as living at 10 Cumberland Street in Edinburgh's Second New Town. In 1832 he returned to Rome, where he occupied a leading position as a sculptor, chiefly producing portrait busts, aided by his elder brother, John, and his son, Alexander. His bust of Philip Henry, fifth Earl Stanhope, is now at Chevening, Kent, and a copy is in the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

. He also executed busts of Walter Scott (1831), Fanny Kemble, Sir David Baird. and James Gillespie Graham. Among his ideal works are 'A Girl and a Carrier Pigeon,’ 1835, and 'Eurydice,’ 1849. His 'Ulysses recognised by his dog,’ shown in the Paris Exhibition of 1855, was much admired, and became the property of Lord Kilmorey. He died in Rome. Several sculptors trained under him, including

William Brodie William Brodie (28 September 1741 – 1 October 1788), often known by his title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a housebreaker, partly fo ...

Principal Works

Whilst Macdonald made statues of classical and mythological figures, all his portraiture was in the form of busts. *

(1827) *The Duke of Atholl,

Blair Atholl Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Athall'', originally ''Blàr Ath Fhodla'') is a village in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the Gr ...

, (1827) *Robert Phillips, (1829) *

Earl of Errol Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...

(1832) *Viscountess Canning,

Highcliffe Castle Highcliffe Castle, situated on the cliffs at Highcliffe, Dorset, was built between 1831 and 1835 by Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay in a Gothic Revival style near the site of High Cliff House, a Georgian Mansion designed for the 3rd ...

(1838) *

Lord Alexander Russell General Lord Alexander George Russell (16 September 1821 – 10 January 1907) was a British Army general. He served during the Siege of Sevastapol in the Crimean War. Background Russell was born at Woburn, Bedfordshire, the son of John Rus ...

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...

(1839) *Lady Ebury,

Apsley House Apsley House is the London townhouse of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing south towards the busy traffic roundabout in the centre of which stands the Wellington Arch. I ...

(1839) *Lord Charles Montagu,

Kimbolton Castle Kimbolton Castle is a country house in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, England. It was the final home of King Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, it was the family seat o ...

(1840) *

Sir Henry Taylor Sir Henry Taylor (18 October 1800 – 27 March 1886) was an English dramatist and poet, Colonial Office official, and man of letters. Early life Henry Taylor was born on 18 October 1800 in Bishop Middleham. He was the third son of George T ...

(1843) * Lord Compton,

Castle Ashby Castle Ashby is the name of a civil parish, an estate village and an English country house in rural Northamptonshire. Historically the village was set up to service the needs of Castle Ashby House, the seat of the Marquess of Northampton. The v ...

(1843) * Mary Somerville, (1844) *The Duke of Cambridge,

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

(1846) *The Hon Mrs Sidney Herbert,

Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, which has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years. It was built on the site of the medieval Wilton Abbey. Following the dissolution ...

(1848) *Statue of Hyacinthus,

(1852) *Duke of Northumberland (1853) *

Earl Stanhope Earl Stanhope ()Debrett's Correct Form, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1976, pg 408 was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The earldom was created in 1718 for Major General James Stanhope,Edward Hasted, 'Parishes: Chevening', in The History and T ...

, Chevening House, Kent (1854) *Bacchante at the Bath,

Mount Stewart Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the Iris ...

(1856) *Venus at the Bath,

(1856) *Watts Russell, Ilam Church, Staffordshire (1863) *Earl Stanhope, Chevening, Kent (n.d.) *

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

(n.d.) *Euphemia Murray, Perth Museum (n.d.)

In Literature

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...

published her poem ''Lines. Supposed to be the Prayer of the Supplicating Nymph in Mr. Lawrence Macdonald’s Exhibition of Sculptures'' in the Literary Gazette in 1831.

References

*List of works selected from the Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851, by Rupert Gunnis ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Lawrence Scottish sculptors Scottish male sculptors British emigrants to Italy 1799 births 1878 deaths People from Perth and Kinross Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome