Thomas Stirling Lee (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 16 March 1857 – 29 June 1916,

) was an English

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, specialising in reliefs and portrait heads.

Early life

Lee was born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, London on 16 March 1857, the son of John Swanwick Lee, a surveyor. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and then served as an apprentice in the studio of

John Birnie Philip John Birnie Philip (23 November 1824 – 2 March 1875) was a nineteenth-century English sculptor. Much of his work was carried out for the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. Life Philip was born in London, the son of William and Elizabeth Ph ...

. Lee studied at 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 ...

from 1876 to 1880, where he won both a Gold Medal and a Travelling Scholarship. In 1880–1881 he studied under

Pierre-Jules Cavelier Pierre-Jules Cavelier (30 August 1814, Paris – 28 January 1894, Paris) was a French academic sculptor. Biography The son of a silversmith and furniture maker, Cavelier was born in Paris. He was a student of the sculptors David d'Angers an ...

at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in Paris, and then studied in Rome until 1883.

Career

Lee's commission for 28 panels for the exterior of

St George's Hall, Liverpool St George's Hall is a building on St George's Place, opposite Lime Street railway station in the centre of Liverpool, England. Opened in 1854, it is a Neoclassical building which contains concert halls and law courts, and is recorded in the Na ...

, resulting from an open competition held by

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...

in 1882, is regarded as his most important, but it was the subject of controversy, when the first two featured naked girls, depicting "the child Justice" and "the girl Justice". Lee only completed six of the 28 panels, but was subsequently commissioned to make two, and oversee all, of a further set of six on the theme of 'National Prosperity'. He was a member of the National Portrait Society from 1910 to 1915, building a studio in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

. He was a member and twice chairman of the

Chelsea Arts Club The Chelsea Arts Club is a private members' club at 143 Old Church Street in Chelsea, London with a membership of over 3,800, including artists, sculptors, architects, writers, designers, actors, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers. The club ...

and a member of the

International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers was a union of professional artists that existed from 1898 to 1925, "To promote the study, practice, and knowledge of sculpture, painting, etching, lithographing, engraving, and kindred ...

. Stirling was an active member of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...

and was elected Master in 1898. Lee died at

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, London on 29 June 1916. His friends subscribed to a fund for a bronze panel on the family vault at

New Southgate New Southgate is a residential suburb straddling three Outer London Boroughs: a small part of the east of Barnet, a south-west corner of Enfield and in loosest definitions, based on nearest railway stations, a small northern corner of Haringey i ...

Works

Charles Gore, First Bishop of Birmingham - geograph

Lee's work includes: *

Bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s for

Leeds Town Hall Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...

* Carvings for

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

statue of

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the c ...

, First Bishop of Birmingham, outside Birmingham Cathedral (1914) - * The Progress of Justice series of bas reliefs, left of the central portico on Saint George's Hall, Liverpool, 1885–1894 * The National Progress series, right of the portico on Saint George's Hall, 1898–1901 * Doors with scenes of male friendship, Adelphi Bank, Liverpool

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Thomas Stirling 1857 births 1916 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 19th-century British sculptors Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools British alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts English male sculptors People educated at Westminster School, London People from Lambeth Sculptors from London