Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (12 June 186310 October 1931), usually known as Bertram Mackennal, was an Australian sculptor and medallist, most famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. He signed his work "BM". He was one of the few artists that King George V liked, and, as a result, was selected to create many sculptures of the late king. Some of his more notable works include statues of George on display in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

and Madras.

Early life and family

Bertram Mackennal was born in Fitzroy, Victoria, a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, the second son of parents who were both of Scottish descent. His mother was Annabella, Hyde, and his father was John Simpson Mackennal, a "prominent Melbourne artist and sculptor". Bertram's brother Horace John Mackennal (died 28 June 1949) would go on to be a prominent architect who was responsible for the design of many large architectural projects in Victoria in his capacity as Commonwealth Works Director for Victoria (1912–1939). John Mackennal provided Bertram his early training which was followed by studies at the school of design at the Melbourne National Gallery which he attended from 1878 to 1882. Marshall Wood, a visiting English sculptor, advised him to go Europe and promised employment. Mackennal left for London in 1882 to study at the National Gallery Schools, discovered Wood had died and shared a studio with Charles Douglas Richardson and

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe ...

. In 1884 he visited Paris for further study and married a fellow student, Agnes Spooner.

Career

On returning to England, Mackennal was appointed head of modelling and design at the Coalport Potteries,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

early in 1886. In the same year he won a competition for the sculptured reliefs on the front of

Parliament House, Melbourne Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Victoria, one of the parliaments of the Australian states and territories. Located on Spring Street on the edge of the Hoddle Grid, the grand colonnaded front dominates the vista ...

, and returned to Australia in 1887 to execute these. While in Australia, Mackennal obtained other commissions, including the figure over the doorway of Mercantile Chambers,

Collins Street, Melbourne Collins Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was laid out in the first survey of Melbourne, the original 1837 Hoddle Grid, and soon became the most desired address in the city. Collins ...

. Mackennal also met the visiting Sarah Bernhardt who strongly advised him to leave Australia and return to Paris. Mackennal borrowed money from

Frank Stuart Frank (Francis) Stuart (21 May 1844 – 16 October 1910)Francis Stuart, ''Merchant in Marvellous Melbourne: Frank Stuart'' (Melbourne, 2002) was an Australian politician, a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Victorian Legislati ...

and arrived in Paris in 1891. La Tete d'une Saint (Head of a Saint) 1892 was produced soon after his arrival in Paris. Head of a Saint features a contemporary modern woman, with elaborate lilies. The marble version of Head of a Saint was included in the Paris Salon of 1892, with a single bronze version known to also exist. In 1892, the Argus reported that the 'relief in marble, for its size, is the best thing of its kind in the Salon.' In 1893 he had his first success when his full-length figure "Circe", now at the National Gallery of Victoria, obtained a "mention" at the Old Salon and created a good deal of interest. It was exhibited later at the Royal Academy of Arts where it also aroused great interest, partly because of the prudery of the hanging committee which insisted that the base should be covered.* He was the first Australian to exhibit at the Royal Academy. Commissions began flowing in, among them being the figures "Oceana" and "Grief" for the Union Club, Sydney. Two Melbourne commissions brought him to Australia again in 1901: the memorial to

Sir William Clarke, 1st Baronet Sir William John Clarke, 1st Baronet (31 March 1831 – 15 May 1897), was an Australian businessman and philanthropist in the Colony of Victoria. He was raised to the baronetage in 1882, the first Victorian to be granted a hereditary honour. ...

at the

Treasury Gardens The Treasury Gardens consist of on the south-eastern side of the Melbourne central business district, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Wellington Parade, Spring Street, Treasury Place, and by the Fitzroy Garde ...

, Melbourne, and the sculptures for the

Springthorpe Memorial The Springthorpe Memorial is an elaborate Victorian era memorial located within Boroondara General Cemetery in Kew, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. The memorial was built by Melbourne doctor John Springthorpe, in honour of his wif ...

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

. Mackennal returned to London, and among his works of this period were the fine pediment for the local government board office at Westminster, a

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

memorial for Islington, and statues of Queen Victoria for Ballarat,

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, and

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

. In 1907 his marble group "The Earth and the Elements" was purchased for the National Gallery of British Art under the

Chantrey Bequest 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 ...

, and in 1908 his "Diana Wounded" was also bought for the nation. This dual success brought Mackennal into great prominence, and he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1909, the first Australian accorded this honour. He also designed the medals for the 1908 London Olympic Games. George V UK three halfpence

In 1910 Mackennal designed the Coronation Medal for

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and also won the important commission for the obverse design (the monarch's head) of the new coinage needed for the new reign from 1911, from which he developed the new design for the King's head on British postage stamps. This is certainly his most enduring design. His initials, B.M., can be seen on the truncation of the King's neck on the obverse of all British coins of George V. His next important work was the memorial to

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

at Sudbury, which was followed by the memorial tomb of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Mackennal also sculpted statues of King Edward VII for London, Melbourne, Calcutta and Adelaide. Mackennal was the first Australian artist to be knighted. He was created a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order in 1921 by H.M. King George V on the occasion of the unveiling of the London equestrian statue of King Edward VII. He was elected R.A. in 1922.

Late life

Among Mackennal's later works were the nude male figure for the

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

War Memorial, the

Parliamentary War Memorial The Parliamentary War Memorial, also known as the Recording Angel Memorial, is a stone sculpture in Westminster Hall, unveiled in 1922, which commemorates the members of both Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom who died in the First Wor ...

to the members of both houses of parliament in London, the figures of the soldier and the sailor for the cenotaph in

Martin Place, Sydney Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

, the bronze statue of King George V at

Old Parliament House, Canberra Old Parliament House, formerly known as the Provisional Parliament House, was the seat of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 after Parliament's relocation from Melbourne to the new capit ...

, and the head of "Victory", presented to the Commonwealth by the artist, also at Canberra. He completed the

Desert Mounted Corps The Desert Mounted Corps was an army corps of the British Army during the First World War, of three mounted divisions renamed in August 1917 by General Edmund Allenby, from Desert Column. These divisions which served in the Sinai and Pales ...

memorial at the Suez Canal from the designs of

Charles Web Gilbert Charles Marsh Webb (Nash) Gilbert (18 March 1867 – 3 October 1925), known professionally as C. Web Gilbert, was a self-taught Australian sculptor renowned both within Australia and abroad. Gilbert was born at Cockatoo in Victoria, between Talb ...

a little while before his death. Sir Bertram Mackennal died suddenly from rupture of abdominal aneurysm at his house, Watcombe Hall, near

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

on 10 October 1931; he was survived by Lady Mackennal and a daughter.

Selected works

* ''Five Foolish Virgins'', relief, (exhibited 1886) * Sculptured reliefs,

(installed 1887) *

Louis Buvelot Louis Buvelot ( Morges 3 March 1814 – Melbourne 30 May 1888), born Abram-Louis Buvelot, was a Swiss landscape painter who lived 17 years in Brazil and following 5 years back in Switzerland stayed 23 years in Australia, where he influenced the H ...

, bust,

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

(1892) * Head of a Saint, (1892), marble bust, exhibited at Paris Salon (1892), single bronze relief also in existence from 1892. https://web.archive.org/web/20161027055328/http://postimg.org/image/yla0thbq3/
''Circe'', bronze figure
National Gallery of Victoria (exhibited 1893) * Sarah Bernhardt, bust (1893), exhibited at the Paris Salon of (1894) * ''Truth'', bronze statuette, Art Gallery of New South Wales (1894) * ''For She Sitteth on a Seat in the High Places of the City'' (''

Rahab Rahab (; Arabic: راحاب, a vast space of a land) was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city ...

''), location unknown, (exhibited 1895) * Figure over doorway, Mercantile Chambers,

* Pediment, New Government Offices,

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

, Westminster, London (1898) *

Dame Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th centur ...

, bust,

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

, Covent Garden, London (1899) *

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

, seated bronze, the British Embassy gardens,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

(1900) *

, statues, Ballarat,

and

(c.1901) * ''Oceania'', Union, University & Schools Club, Sydney *

, sculptures, Boroondara General Cemetery,

, (1901) *

Sir William John Clarke Sir William John Clarke, 1st Baronet (31 March 1831 – 15 May 1897), was an Australian businessman and philanthropist in the Colony of Victoria. He was raised to the baronetage in 1882, the first Victorian to be granted a hereditary honour. ...

Treasury Gardens, Melbourne The Treasury Gardens consist of on the south-eastern side of the Melbourne central business district, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Wellington Parade, Spring Street, Treasury Place, and by the Fitzroy Gar ...

(1901) *

Memorial, (''Victory''), entrance to Highbury Fields, Islington (1903) * ''The Dancer'', bronze life-size statue, Art Gallery of New South Wales (1904) * ''War'' (''

Bellona Bellona may refer to: Places *Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy *Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia *Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands Ships * HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 74 ...

'' or ''Victory''), Sculpture Garden, Australian War Memorial, Canberra (sculpted 1906) * Memorial to Sir Peter Nicol Russell,

East Finchley Cemetery East Finchley Cemetery is a cemetery and crematorium in East End Road, East Finchley. Although it is in the London Borough of Barnet, it is owned and managed by the City of Westminster.University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

(1906–09) * ''The Earth and the Elements'' (marble group),

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

(exhibited 1907) * Sir William Howard Russell, bust, The Crypt, St Paul's Cathedral, London (1907) * Olympic Games Medals, London, 1908 * '' Diana Wounded'', bronze, Tate Gallery (purchased 1908) * King George V coinage and medals (signed BM) and postage stamps (1910) * Tomb for Edward VII (with Edward Lutyens),

St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...

(commissioned 1910) * National Memorial to

, Sudbury, Suffolk * ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

'',

Taplow Court Taplow Court is a Victorian house in the village of Taplow in Buckinghamshire, England. Its origins are an Elizabethan manor house, remodelled in the early 17th century. In the 18th century the court was owned by the Earls of Orkney. In the 185 ...

, Buckinghamshire. * King George V, marble portrait statue, formerly situated at the Flower Bazaar Police Station, Madras, now at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

, New Delhi (1916) * King Edward VII, bronze equestrian statue mounted on archway,

Victoria Memorial Hall The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall is a performing arts centre in the Central Area of Singapore, situated along Empress Place. It is a complex of two buildings and a clock tower joined together by a common corridor; the oldest part of the ...

, Calcutta (1916) * King Edward VII, bronze equestrian statue,

Queen Victoria Gardens, Melbourne The Queen Victoria Gardens are Melbourne's memorial to Queen Victoria. Located on 4.8 hectares (12 acres) opposite the Victorian Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria, bounded by St Kilda Road, Alexandra Avenue and Linlithgow Avenue. Que ...

(unveiled 1920) * King Edward VII, bronze statue (and associated figures),

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

(unveiled 1920) * King Edward VII, bronze equestrian statue,

Waterloo Place Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under ...

London (1921) *

, London *

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

Corporation Park, Blackburn Corporation Park is a traditional Victorian park in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. It was landscaped by William Henderson and opened in 1857.

, Lancashire (1922) * War Memorial,

Cliveden House Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern H ...

, Buckinghamshire, England * War Memorial for

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, (now at National Gallery of Victoria) (1923) * ''

Phoebus Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Driving the Horses of the Sun'',

Australia House The High Commission of Australia in London is the diplomatic mission of Australia in the United Kingdom. It is located in Australia House, a Grade II listed building. It was Australia's first diplomatic mission and is the longest continuously ...

, The Strand, London, (installed 1923) * 1914–1918 War Memorial ''Mother Courage'', Caledonian Club, Belgravia, London (unveiled 1923 by Vice President, Field Marshal Earl Haig, with Sir Bertram in attendance.) * Cardinal Moran and Archbishop Kelly,

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians (colloquially, St Mary's Cathedral) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, curre ...

Shakespeare Memorial William Shakespeare has been commemorated in a number of different statues and memorials around the world, notably his funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon (c. 1623); a statue in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London, designed by Willi ...

, Shakespeare Place, Sydney (1926) *

The Cenotaph The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War, was rededicated in 19 ...

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

, Sydney (1929) * Mary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston, tomb effigy at All Saints' church, Kedleston, Derbyshire (1913)''Kedleston Hall'' (The National Trust, 1988), p. 61 *

George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

, monument, All Saints' church, Kedleston (1931) * Marquess Curzon, statue,

Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's Pa ...

, London *

Memorial, Port Said (1931) (now at

Mount Clarence Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

)

References

External links

Profile on Royal Academy of Arts CollectionsBertrand Mackennal
at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Mackennals war sculptures in Australia
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090105233647/http://www.artinfo.com.au/articles/read/bertram-mackennal Reviewof exhibition at the

2008 by

Tony Lloyd Sir Anthony Joseph Lloyd (born 25 February 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who has discontinuously served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1983, currently as the MP for Rochdale since 2017. He was MP for Stretford from 1983 to 1 ...