William Mossman (18 August 1793 – 23 June 1851) was a Scottish sculptor operational in the early 19th century, and father to three sculptor sons.

Life

Said to be a descendant of James Mossman (1530–1573), Mossman was born in

West Linton West Linton ( gd, Liontan Ruairidh) is a village and civil parish in southern Scotland, on the A702. It was formerly in the county of Peeblesshire, but since local government re-organisation in the mid-1990s it is now part of Scottish Borders. M ...

, the son of the local schoolmaster, John Mossman (died 1808) and Jean Forrest. He apparently trained under

Sir Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

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 ...

before returning to

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 ...

in 1823, where he first lived in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, working as a marble cutter on

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to the ...

before moving

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 ...

in 1830, where he lived for the remainder of his life. In 1833 he began his own company "William Mossman", renamed to "J G & W Mossman" in 1854, when he embraced his sons into the firm as partners. From 1857 the firm was known as J & G Mossman Ltd. During the boom of cemetery development in

, Mossman received many commissions for monuments in the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

Sighthill Cemetery Sighthill Cemetery is an active cemetery in central Glasgow, Scotland dating from 1840. It has an operational crematorium. It lies within the Sighthill neighbourhood on the A803 Springburn Road between Cowlairs Park and Petershill Park, north of ...

and the

Southern Necropolis The Southern Necropolis is a cemetery in the Gorbals district of southern Glasgow, Scotland. It was opened in the year 1840 to provide an affordable and respectable place of burial for the people of Gorbals and the surrounding areas of the city ...

m. Mossman died in 1851 and was himself buried in Sighthill Cemetery in north Glasgow, with his monument designed by

Alexander "Greek" Thomson Alexander "Greek" Thomson (9 April 1817 – 22 March 1875) was an eminent Scottish architect and architectural theorist who was a pioneer in sustainable building. Although his work was published in the architectural press of his day, it was ...

Principal Works

*Bust of James Cleland (1831) *Bust of David Hamilton () *Heraldic panels,

Lennox Castle Lennox Castle is an abdandoned castle in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, approximately north of Glasgow. It is infamous for previously hosting Lennox Castle Hospital, Scotland's "largest institution for people with learning disabilit ...

(1837–1841) *Monument to Peter Lawrence,

(1840) *Monument to "

Highland Mary ''Highland Mary'' is a song composed in 1792 by Scottish poet Robert Burns. It is one of three works dedicated to Mary Campbell, with whom Burns was in love in the 1780s. The others, "Highland Lassie, O" and "Will Ye Go to the Indies My Mary?" ...

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

Cemetery (1841) *Tomb of Mrs Lockhart,

(1842) *Corbel heads on west front of

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...

and recarving of gargoyles (1842) under the employ of

Edward Blore Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. Early career He was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore. Blore's backg ...

*Monument to Lt. Joseph F. Gomoszynski,

(1845) *"Beloved Mother" monument,

(1845) *Monument to

Lord Cathcart Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime be ...

Paisley Abbey Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a for ...

(1848)

Family

Mossman married Jean McLahlan in

in 1816 and had three sons, each of whom became sculptors:

John Mossman John G. Mossman (London 1817–1890) was one of a number of English sculptors who dominated the production and teaching of sculpture in Glasgow for 50 years after his arrival with his father and brothers from his native London in 1828. His fa ...

, George Mossman and William Mossman Jr.

John Mossman

See separate article

George Mossman

George Mossman (1823–1863) was born in

soon after the family left London. He studied at 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 ...

in London plus in the studios of

William Behnes William Behnes (1795 – 3 January 1864) was a British sculptor of the early 19th century. Life Born in London, Behnes was the son of a Hanoverian piano-maker and his English wife. His brother was Henry Behnes, also a sculptor, albeit an in ...

and

John Henry Foley John Henry Foley (24 May 1818 – 27 August 1874), often referred to as J. H. Foley, was an Irish sculptor, working in London. he is best known for his statues of Daniel O'Connell in Dublin, and of Prince Albert for the Albert Memorial in Londo ...

. He died of an epileptic seizure, aged only 40 and was buried with his parents at Sighthill Cemetery.

William Mossman II

William Mossman the younger (1824–1884) was born in

. He trained under his father,

Carlo Marochetti Baron Pietro Carlo Giovanni Battista Marochetti (14 January 1805 – 29 December 1867) was an Italian-born French sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Britain. He completed many public sculptures, often in a neo-classical style, plus re ...

, John Thomas, and

. He in turn trained William Shirreffs whilst tutoring 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, and ...

.Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951 He was buried in Sighthill Cemetery with his father.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mossman, William 1793 births 1851 deaths British architectural sculptors Scottish sculptors Scottish male sculptors Artists from Glasgow