Benno Schotz (28 August 1891 – 11 October 1984) was an Estonian-born Scottish sculptor, and one of Scotland's leading artists during the twentieth century.

Biography

Early life

Schotz was the youngest of six children of

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish parents, Jacob Schotz, a watchmaker, and Cherna Tischa Abramovitch. He was educated at the Boys Grammar School of

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Later he studied at the Grossherzogliche Technische Hochschule in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

, Germany. In 1912, he immigrated to Glasgow, where he gained an engineering diploma from the

Royal Technical College The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964. Tracing its history back to the Andersonian Institute (founded in 1796), it is the direct predecessor instituti ...

. From 1914 to 1923 he worked in the drawing office of

John Brown & Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its heig ...

Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

s, while attending evening classes in sculpture at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) 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 design. These are all awa ...

Artistic career

Schotz became a full-time sculptor in 1923. An important early patron was the Dundee art collector William Boyd, thanks to whose influence both Dundee Dental School and Dundee Art Galleries & Museums hold pieces by him. From this point onwards his reputation grew and he became a full member of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

, head of sculpture at the Glasgow School of Art (a post he held from 1938 until his retirement in 1961), and eventually was appointed the

Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland The Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland is a member of the royal household in Scotland. The first appointment was made by Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Gr ...

in 1963. His pupils included the artists Hannah Frank, Stewart Bowman Johnson, and Inge King (née Neufeld). His homes at West Campbell Street and later Kirklee Road were a focus for meetings of artists, writers, actors, and politicians. He was a member of the

Glasgow Art Club Glasgow Art Club is a club in Glasgow for artists and non-artists interested in creating art and the enjoyment of art - all illustrative arts, sculptures, poetry, prose, plays, music, song, choreography and dance. To advance, promote and encourag ...

. He helped refugees including Jankel Adler and

Josef Herman Josef Herman (3 January 1911 – 19 February 2000), was a highly regarded Polish-British painter who influenced contemporary art, particularly in the United Kingdom. He was part of a generation of central and eastern European Jewish refuge ...

. He was a committed

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, and also proud of his adopted

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He worked until a few weeks before his death at the age of 93. He was buried in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He was made a Freeman of the City of Glasgow in 1981. In that year, Gordon Wright published his autobiography, ''Bronze in My Blood''.

Work

During his career, Schotz produced several hundred portraits and compositions including figure compositions, religious sculptures, semi-abstracts, and modelled portraits. His bust of

James Maxton James Maxton (22 June 1885 – 23 July 1946) was a Scottish left-wing politician, and leader of the Independent Labour Party. He was a pacifist who opposed both world wars. A prominent proponent of Home Rule for Scotland, he is remembered as on ...

is on public display at the Maxton remembrance garden in

Barrhead Barrhead (, ) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when a series of small textile-produ ...

near Paisley. Other publicly accessible work includes: * ''Memorial to Provost John Jarvie of

Kilsyth Kilsyth (; ) is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 10,380. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the religi ...

'', first freeman of the burgh, commissioned in 1954 is a portrait in relief and can be seen in John Jarvie Square, off East Burnside Street,

. * ''The Psalmist'' (1974) in the T. J. Honeyman Memorial Garden of

Kelvingrove Park Kelvingrove Park is a public park located on the River Kelvin in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, containing the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. History Kelvingrove Park was originally created as the West End Park in 1852, a ...

, * the ''

Joseph Black Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a British physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glasgow ...

Memorial'' (1953) at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, * the statues of Saints Margaret and Ninian on the front of the 1929-31 (former) Bank of Scotland building on Sauchiehall St, * the ''Painting'' and ''Sculpture'' reliefs on the Mercat Building (1928–29) and * the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

sculptures in St. Charles' Parish Church North Kelvinside. * the Crucifix in St Columba's Church, Woodside, Glasgow * ''Ex Terra'' in

Glenrothes Glenrothes ( ; ; , ) is a town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It had a population of 39,277 in the 2011 census, making it the third largest settlement in Fife and the 18th most populous locality in Scotland. Glenroth ...

town centre next to the bus station *bust of James Pittendrigh Macgillivray,

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

(1924) * busts of William Boyd, Mrs William Rettie, and William Tattersall in Dundee Dental Hospital & School, University of Dundee * a bust of William Boyd's daughter Joan at The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum * bust of

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

People's Palace, Glasgow The People's Palace and Winter Gardens in Glasgow, Scotland, is a museum and glasshouse situated in Glasgow Green, and was opened on 22 January 1898 by The 5th Earl of Rosebery. Early history The idea of "palaces for the people" drew on the wr ...

* eleven foot high sculpture 'The Window on the World', Vale of Leven Academy Alexandria. The majority of these works were in Glasgow and the surrounding area. He was responsible for the repair of the bridge sculpture at Kelvingrove Park beside the now refurbished art gallery and museum. Although Benno Schotz is frequently referred to as an Estonian sculptor, all his professional life was in Scotland. He became a naturalised British subject in 1930. He became a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy, in 1937. He headed the Sculpture and Ceramics dept. of the Glasgow School of Art from 1938 until his retirement in 1960. His active life as a sculptor continued thereafter with renewed vigor and he created his most ambitious and monumental works over the next 20 years. In 1963, he was appointed The Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland, a member of the Royal household. A major retrospective exhibition of his works (1971) was held at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. His interest in the drawing of trees developed, with the drawings becoming more and more complex and abstract. He mounted a successful exhibition of Sculptures and Related Drawings in Glasgow (1961). His last sculpture was executed less than six weeks before his death, aged 93. He was Life-President of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. Honors include: Freedom of the City of Glasgow; Honorary Fellow of The Hebrew University; Honorary LL.D, Strathclyde University; Honorary Member of the British Society of British Sculptors; Honorary Member of the Royal Institute of Architects in Scotland. Source: his daughter, Mrs. S. C. Crome, and son, Mr. A. M Schotz.

Books

Gallery

File:Alexander Reid by Benno Schotz 1927.jpg, Alexander Reid 1927 File:Ex Terra, Glenrothes.jpg, "Ex Terra" 2010 File:Benno Schotz - The Psalmist.jpg, ''The Psalmist'' (1974).

, Glasgow, Scotland File:Joan by Benno Schotz 1933.JPG, Joan 1933, the McManus, Dundee File:Keir Hardie by Benno Schotz, Peoples Palace, Glasgow.jpg,

, Peoples Palace, Glasgow

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schotz, Benno 1891 births 1984 deaths People from Kuressaare People from Kreis Ösel Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Estonian engineers 20th-century Estonian sculptors 20th-century Scottish engineers 20th-century Estonian Jews 20th-century Estonian male artists 20th-century Scottish Jews Scottish scholars and academics Scottish sculptors Scottish male sculptors Sculptors from Glasgow Jewish artists Royal Scottish Academicians 20th-century British sculptors Estonian emigrants to Scotland Academics of the Glasgow School of Art Alumni of the Royal College of Science and Technology