The sculpture of Lorne McKean & Edwin Russell
Over
the last 25 years, Horsham has been
transformed by major investment. A key part of that
has been the creation of public spaces adorned with
works of art. Until 1990 Horsham did not have one piece of public
art or sculpture. Then the ‘Swans’ of Swan Walk landed
in its midst followed a year or so later by ‘Pirie’s
Donkey and Cart’ and the ‘Roundels of Life’ on the War
Memorial in the Carfax. Lastly in 2003, the remarkable
Horsham Heritage Sundial was opened by HM the Queen:
four different works of art created by Lorne McKean
and Edwin Russell.
Lorne McKean and Edwin
Russell were both born in 1939. Edwin attended the
Brighton School of Art and Lorne went to Florence
where Prince Serge
Yourievitch, a contemporary and friend of
Rodin, attracted by her
modelling, gave her help and guidance. She then went
on to Guildford School of Art. Lorne and Edwin went
the Royal Academy schools where Edwin won the Gold
Medal and the Edward Stott Travelling Scholarship and
Lorne won the Silver Medal for Sculpture combined with
Architecture, the Feodora
Gleichen Scholarship and
the Leverhulme
Scholarship. On finishing their sculpture studies,
Lorne and Edwin married and moved to a secluded valley
in the heart of the Surrey hills near Hindhead. Their
work can be seen in places far removed from their
quiet, almost idyllic, setting where they create their
masterpieces either working alone, in partnership with
each other, or with apprentices and assistants.
Both artists have undertaken prestigious and very
public work that reflect their ability to interpret,
design and sculpt. Edwin’s work includes ‘St Michael’
carved in oak for St Paul’s Cathedral and Lorne a
27ft high sculpture
‘Bronze Birds’ in Leeds City Centre amongst many
others.
Lorne whose love of and feeling for horses, together
with her knowledge of them, has resulted in an
outstanding body of work including the prestigious
commission of ‘HRH Prince Philip on his Polo
Pony’, HM the Queen’s personal silver wedding gift to
her husband, as well as ‘Prince Charles on Pan’s
Folly’, ‘Desert Orchid’ and racehorse ‘Troy’.
Edwin, although not specialising in sundials, has
created some notable examples including the 1978
‘Jubilee Dolphin Sundial’ at the Maritime Museum,
Greenwich. In 1992 both Lorne’s ‘Swans’ in Horsham,
and Edwin’s bronze panel and dial, ‘History of
London’, on Tower Hill, were unveiled. ‘Pirie’s Donkey
and Cart’ by Lorne and Edwin’s ‘Celebration of Life
Roundels’ also featured in Horsham. In 2003 Lorne and
Edwin worked together on the Horsham Heritage Sundial
in the Blackhorse Way Forum, Horsham, assisted by
another artist Damien Fennell. They produced a unique
sundial. It is a three-dimensional, pierced bronze
ring portraying aspects of Horsham District’s rich and
varied heritage from dinosaurs to the present day,
immortalised by a quote from a work by of Percy
Bysshe Shelley, who was born at Field Place near
Horsham, inscribed on the sundial, ‘The One Remains
the Many Change and Pass’.
Lorne McKean
F.R.B.S.
Public
and large works
A.A.
Milne Memorial, London Zoo
‘Girl and Swan’, Reading
Osprey Fountain, Greenwich, USA
‘Great Swan’, Great Swan Alley,
EC2
‘Girl & Otter’ Fountain, London
EC1
Swan Fountain, Horsham
Pirie’s Donkey and Cart Play Sculpture, Horsham
‘Flight’, 27” bronze, Leeds
Equestrian
sculptures
‘HRH Prince Philip on his Polo Pony’
‘Prince Charles on his Polo Pony Pan’s Folly’
Pony series for Royal Worcester porcelain
Racehorse ‘Troy’, Royal Worcester
‘Desert Orchid’ bronze
Lorne McKean’s works
include a portrait sculpture of HM the Queen and the
late Prince William of Gloucester. She has also
exhibited at the Royal Academy.
Edwin Russell
F.R.B.S
Public works
Suffragette Memorial, London
Lewis Carroll commemorative sculpture, ‘Alice and the
White Rabbit’, Guildford
Panda, marble, WWF
International HQ
Tower Hill ‘History of London, bronze panel and
sundial
Sculpture for churches
Crucifix, lime wood, St Paul’s Cathedral
St Catherine, lead, Westminster Abbey
St Michael, oak, St Paul’s Cathedral
Bishop Bubwith, west
front, Wells Cathedral
Sundials
Jubilee Dolphin Sundial, Maritime Museum,
Greenwich, 1978
Botanical Armillary Sundial, Kew Gardens, 1987
5m bronze dial, Parliament Square, Dubai, 1988
Forecourt Sculpture Sundial, Rank Xerox HQ, 1990
In
1986, Edwin Russell created the two metre high ‘Lion
and Lamb’ teak carving in Farnham shopping centre,
which won the Best Shopping Centre Award in 1987.
Edwin won the Otto Beit
medal for sculpture in 1991.
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