Gilbert Bayes
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Gilbert William Bayes (4 April 1872 – 10 July 1953) was an English sculptor. His art works varied in scale from medals to large architectural clocks, monuments and equestrian statues and he was also a designer of some note, creating chess pieces, mirrors and cabinets.


Career

Bayes was born in London into a family of artists, his father being Alfred Walter Bayes, an established artist at the time. He was one of four children and brother to both the well-known artist and critic
Walter Bayes Walter John Bayes (31 May 1869 – 21 January 1956) was an English painter and illustrator who was a founder member of both the Camden Town Group and the London Group and also a renowned art teacher and critic. Biography Early life Bayes was bo ...
, and to the Arts & Crafts designer Jessie Bayes. Gilbert Bayes studied at the
City and Guilds of London Art School Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...
and then 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 ...
between 1896 and 1899, where he won a gold medal and a travelling scholarship to Paris. Bayes' lengthy and illustrious career began as a student under 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 combinin ...
and Harry Bates,Public sculpture of Glasgow By Raymond McKenzie, Gary Nisbet and so became associated with the British
New Sculpture New Sculpture was a movement in late 19th-century British sculpture with an emphasis on naturalistic poses and spiritual subjects. The movement was characterised by the production of free-standing statues and statuettes of 'ideal' figures from poe ...
movement and its focus on architectural sculpture. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1889, aged 17. In Paris, Bayes won an honourable mention at the 1900 International Exhibition, then several medals at the Paris Salon and, in 1925, a gold medal and diploma of honour at the Exhibition of Decorative Art. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Bayes is perhaps best remembered for his interest in colour, his association with the
Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...
Company, and his work in polychrome ceramics and enamelled bronze. His 1939 major polychrome stonework frieze, ''Pottery through the Ages'' at the Doulton Headquarters in London was removed in the 1960s when the building was razed, and the 50 foot long work was re-located to 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 ...
. He also designed a number of war memorials, with public works throughout the former British Empire, from New South Wales to Bangalore. In 1896, Bayes was elected to 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 in 1925 was elected to the position of Master. Bayes served as President of the
Royal British Society of Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It ...
, PRBS, from 1939 through 1944, and of the Ealing Art Group from 1947–1953. He died in London in 1953. Bayes' home at 4 Greville Place in St. John's Wood bears a blue plaque erected by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
in 2007.


Personal life

In 1906, Bayes married Gertrude Smith, a fellow sculptor, in Farnham, Surrey. They had two children: * Eleanor Jean Gilbert Bayes (1908–1999), also an artist * Geoffrey Gilbert Bayes (1912–2001)


Works

* Statues of Sir William Chambers and Sir Charles Barry and other exterior work at 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 ...
under
Sir Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...
, London, circa 1909. * ''Prehistoric Period'' and ''Classic Period'', architectural sculpture at the
National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff ( cy, Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd) is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Welsh Gov ...
, 1914–1915 * ''Destiny'', Albion Gardens, Ramsgate, Kent, dedicated 1920 * Hythe war memorial, Kent, 1921 * Todmorden War Memorial, West Yorkshire, 1921. * ''The Offerings of Peace'' and ''The Offerings of War'' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1923 * The National War Memorial, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, 1924. The bronze figures for the memorial were cast by Ercole James Parlanti of London. * ''The Building of King Solomon's Temple'', Central Warwickshire Masonic Temple (demolished), Birmingham, 1927 (frieze in store) * The ''Queen of Time'' bronze group above the Oxford Street entrance to
Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridg ...
department store, London, 1928 * ''Drama Through the Ages'', polychrome ceramic frieze for the
Saville Theatre ODEON Covent Garden is a four-screen cinema in the heart of London's West End. Formerly known as The Saville Theatre, a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the London Borough of Camden. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a ...
(now the Odeon Covent Garden cinema), London, 1931 * The
Segrave Trophy The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and wat ...
, 1932 * About 200 sculpted figures executed in coloured and glazed Doultonware set on washing line posts and finials in the housing estates of the St Pancras Home Improvement Society (later St Pancras Housing Assn) in Somers Town, London, and at York Rise Estate, Camden, 1920s and 1930s. * Exterior bas-reliefs and interior work at the BBC Broadcasting House, London, 1931 * Six allegorical relief panels,
Commercial Bank of Scotland The Commercial Bank of Scotland Ltd. was a Scottish commercial bank. It was founded in Edinburgh in 1810, and obtained a royal charter in 1831. It grew substantially through the 19th and early 20th centuries, until 1958, when it merged with th ...
, Bothwell Street, Glasgow, 1934–35 * A series of sporting figures outside Lord's Cricket Ground, London, 1934 * ''Pottery through the Ages'', polychrome ceramic frieze for the London headquarters of the
Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...
Company, 1939 * Two memorial bronzes at the St James' Church, Warter * Statue of
Jamsetji Tata Jamsetji (Jamshedji) Nusserwanji Tata (3 March 1839 – 19 May 1904) was an Indian pioneer industrialist who founded the Tata Group, India's biggest conglomerate company. Named the greatest philanthropist of the last century by several pol ...
at the
Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...
,
Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
* ''Blue Robed Bambino'' fountain at the
Centre William Rappard The Centre William Rappard at Rue de Lausanne 154, Geneva, Switzerland, was built between 1923 and 1926 to house the International Labour Office (ILO). It was the first building in Geneva designed to house an international organization. In 1975 t ...
, Geneva (also known as ''Child with Fish'') * Reliefs featuring musicians on a building in
Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square in the much la ...
, London. The house had been the showroom of Brinmeads, the English piano manufacturer.


Legacy

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 ...
in South Kensington has named a gallery after Bayes. In 2011 the
Royal British Society of Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It ...
created the Gilbert Bayes Award for early career sculptors.


References


External links

*
Works by Bayes
in 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 ...

National Archives article

Gilbert Bayes Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayes, Gilbert 1872 births 1953 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century English male artists Alumni of the City and Guilds of London Art School Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools British architectural sculptors English male sculptors Masters of the Art Worker's Guild Olympic competitors in art competitions Sibling artists Sculptors from London