William Shirreffs (1846-23 June 1902) was a Scottish sculptor in the 19th century. His two principal claims to fame is as one of the chosen sculptors of the figures depicting characters from the novels of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

on the

Scott Monument The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana. It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opp ...

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

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 ...

and for the figures on the north entrance porch of

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It reopened in 2006 after a three-year refurbishment and since then has been one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions. The museum has 22 galleries, h ...

Life

He was born in

Huntly, Aberdeenshire Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlement ...

, to James Shirreffs and his wife, Mary Wagrel, in 1846 and was baptised in the same parish on 14 April 1846. He studied at

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 ...

under William Mossman from 1870 to 1873 winning a free scholarship in 1872. In 1877 he opened his own studio at 108 West Regent Street and in 1887 opened his own foundry at 261 West George Street, probably with his brother, Charles Gordon Shirreffs (1857-1913), who was a brass-founder. His bronze and copper-work are considerably more refined than his stone carving. He worked closely with the architect J J Burnet on several projects. He also did co-operative works with other sculptors such as Sir

George Frampton Sir George James Frampton, (18 June 1860 – 21 May 1928) was a British sculptor. He was a leading member of the New Sculpture movement in his early career when he created sculptures with elements of Art Nouveau and Symbolism, often combining ...

, John Rhind and

Pittendreigh MacGillivray James Pittendrigh MacGillivray (1856 – 29 April 1938) was a Scottish sculptor. He was also a keen artist, musician and poet. He was born in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, the son of a sculptor, and studied under William Brodie and John Mossman ...

. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1896. For the Kelvingrove Art Gallery he visited Paris with Frampton to study sculpture on contemporary French buildings and the French influence can clearly be seen. He died at his home, Lochwinnoch in Paisley on 23 June 1902 and is buried in Glasgow’s

Western Necropolis Western Necropolis is a cemetery complex in Glasgow, Scotland located to the north of the city centre. As well as the actual Western Necropolis cemetery established in 1882, it is bordered by Lambhill Cemetery which opened in 1881, St Kentigern's ...

Principal Public Works

See *Figure of Gurth the Swineherd on the

(1882) *Copper panels in Glasgow’s City Chambers (1888) *Carving on the Sugar Exchange,

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 ...

(1890) *Low relief bronze panels on the pedestal of John Rhind’s statue to

Sir William Chambers __NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-Scottish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. Biog ...

on Chambers Street,

(1891) *Carving on the General Accident and Assurance Company offices,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

(1891) *Carving on Clark Memorial Church,

Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...

(1892) *Sculpture on Glasgow Savings Bank, 177 Ingram Street (1894-1899) *Monument to

Thomas Gildard Thomas Gildard (nicknamed Gildey) was a 19th-century Scottish architect and author. In a short career as a private architect alongside Robert Macfarlane, before entering public service as deputy to Glasgow`s Master of Works, buildings designed ...

, architect,

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 ...

(1896) *Heraldic sculpture, 67 St Vincent Street, Glasgow (1898) demolished 1967 *Figure of Diana Vernon in final phase of

(1898) *Figures on the north side of

(1898-1900) *Lower figures on the monument to William Gladstone on Coates Crescent,

(1900-1902) - main statue by

* William Barbour Monument, Paisley (1902)

Portrait Busts

*James Gardner Laing RSW, artist (1894) *Robert Phillips (1896) *John L Toole, actor (1896) *

David Gauld David Gauld (7 November 1865 – 18 June 1936) was an important Scottish artist who worked in both oils and stained glass and was regarded as being one of the innovators within the Glasgow Boys group. Some of his works, such as ''St Agnes'' and ...

, artist (1896)

References and External Links

*http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php?sub=shirreffs_w *http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib6_1232383806 {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirreffs, William 1846 births 1902 deaths Scottish sculptors Scottish male sculptors