Frontage to St Augustine's Church, Bexhill-on-Sea - geograph

John Stephen Skelton

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

FRBS 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 ...

(8 July 1923 – 26 November 1999) was a British letter-cutter and sculptor. Skelton was a nephew of

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

and was first apprenticed to his uncle, shortly before Gill's death. He continued his training under Joseph Cribb. His public work includes the headstone to

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inherite ...

at West Dean, a sculpture of St Augustine above the church of that dedication in Bexhill-on-Sea, and the font at

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of ...

(1983).

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

(Our Lady of Pity Sculpture, 1967–8), Salisbury Cathedral (inscriptions) and

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

(inscriptions and side altar) show other examples. Other displays can be found in Stratford-upon-Avon, in the Shakespeare Centre and the adjacent Shakespeare Birthplace Garden, while at St. Paul's Cathedral there are plaques designed by Skelton in memory of 10 Allied Field Marshals of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and Ivor Novello. A memorial to the generals of World War II is in St Paul's Cathedral Crypt, London. A tablet commemorating a member of the ship's company of the

Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' (launched 1511) is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her ...

is in Portsmouth Cathedral. His brother Christopher Skelton published ''John Skelton, A Sculptor's Work'', in 1977 with a foreword by Joan Ellis. Skelton contributed to Dr Judith Collins' 1998 catalogue on

's sculpture. Worthing Museum and Art Gallery acquired ''The Diver'' (1970), a carving in walnut wood, in 2008; this was made possible through the V&A Purchase Fund and the Friends of the Worthing Museum. In 1993, he exhibited "Skelton at Seventy" in his own house and garden. Skelton exhibited a stone marble carving of a young female's breasts named 'Headrest', which was displayed at the A4E lottery-funded exhibition at Odintune Place, Plumpton, called The Travelling Art Show, in 1997. Skelton was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1963. He was elected as Master 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 ...

in 1985, and was awarded an

in 1989. He married Myrtle Bromley Martin in 1948, and had two daughters and one son. His daughter Helen trained as a sculptor and works at his workshop.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skelton, John 1923 births 1999 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British sculptors British male sculptors British letter cutters 20th-century British male artists