David Watson Stephenson (25 March 1842 – 18 March 1904) was a Scottish sculptor, executing portraits and monuments in marble and bronze.

Biography

Stevenson was born in

Ratho Ratho () is a village in the rural west part of the City of Edinburgh council area, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian (historic), ...

, Midlothian, Scotland, on 25 March 1842, the son of William Stevenson and Margaret Kay. He studied at the

Trustees' Academy The Trustees' Academy was an independent art and trade school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design. The Academy was founded in 1760, reduced in scope in 1892 by a schism, then became defunct in 1903. Initially ...

, Edinburgh. From 1860 he took an eight-year apprenticeship under the sculptor William Brodie. DW Stevenson portrait - Generated by AI

He won the

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

National Prize for student sculpture with a statuette of the

Venus de Milo The ''Venus de Milo'' or ''Aphrodite of Melos'' is an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek marble sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic art, Hellenistic period. Its exact dating is uncertain, but the modern consensus places it in the 2nd ...

and completed his studies in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He worked as assistant to Sir

John Steell Sir John Robert Steell (Aberdeen 18 September 1804 – 15 September 1891) was a Scottish sculptor. He modelled many of the leading figures of Scottish history and culture, and is best known for a number of sculptures displayed in Edinburgh, ...

on the

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

Monument forming the centrepiece of

Charlotte Square file:Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 105918.jpg, 300px, Robert Adam's palace-fronted north side Charlotte Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland, part of the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

in Edinburgh. Here he added figures of "Science & Learning" and "Labour" on the corners. He became known for his portrait sculptures executed in marble and bronze. His best known and most iconic work is the 1869 bronze figure of

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

on the

Wallace Monument The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace Monument) is a tower on the shoulder of the Abbey Craig, a hilltop overlooking Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero. ...

near

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

. He became a 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 ...

. He lived in a townhouse at 2 Castle Terrace facing onto St Cuthbert's Churchyard at the west end of

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

. Stevenson died on 18 March 1904, aged 61. His funeral took place at his brother's home. Several Royal Scottish Academicians attended the funeral. The 1st Highland Company of the Queen's Rifle Volunteer Brigade, which D.W. Stevenson had previously commanded, was also respresented. He is buried with his younger brother,

William Grant Stevenson William Grant Stevenson, (7 March 1849 – 6 May 1919) was a Scottish sculptor and portrait painter. Life and work Stevenson was born in Ratho in Midlothian on 7 March 1849. His parents were William Stevenson and Margaret Kay Stevenson. His ...

, also a sculptor, in the south-west section of

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. The bronze portrait relief head of William on the monument was sculpted by

Henry Snell Gamley Henry Snell Gamley (1865–1928) was a Scottish sculptor specialising in war memorials and sculpture on tombs. He was however also responsible for other figurative sculpture on prominent Edinburgh buildings such as the Usher Hall and wor ...

Works

Stevenson's most loved and publicly seen statue is the figure of

on the

in Stirling. This fine statue should not be confused with the far cruder, modern statue near the visitor centre, but stands on the side of the monument itself. Stevenson made the figures of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, and Halbert Glendinning on the

Scott Monument The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second-largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana. It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opp ...

, Edinburgh (1874); the

Henry Bolckow Henry William Ferdinand Bolckow, originally Heinrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Bölckow, (8 December 1806 – 18 June 1878) was a Victorian industrialist and Member of Parliament, acknowledged as being one of the founders of modern Middlesbrough. In a ...

Monument,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

(1881);

Robert Tannahill Robert Tannahill (3 June 1774 – 17 May 1810) was a Scottish poet of labouring class origin. Known as the 'Weaver Poet', he wrote poetry in English and lyrics in Scots in the wake of Robert Burns. Life Tannahill was born in Castle Street in ...

, Paisley (1884) and (

Mary Campbell (Highland Mary) Mary Campbell, also known as Highland MaryBurns Encyclopedia
Retriev ...

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the cou ...

(1896). His sculptures of Sir John Steell a fellow sculptor (1887) and Napier of Murchiston (1898) are held in the

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 ...

. He also created five of the multiple statues on the exterior of the Portrait Gallery:

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. 1726 – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, Agricultural science, agriculturalist, chemist, chemical manufacturer, Natural history, naturalist and physician. Often referred to a ...

;

John Napier John Napier of Merchiston ( ; Latinisation of names, Latinized as Ioannes Neper; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8 ...

; King James VI; James Campbell and Adam Duncan. He created the

Saracen Fountain The Saracen Fountain is a large, ornate fountain located in Alexandra Park, Glasgow, Alexandra Park, Glasgow, Scotland. It was made of cast iron by Macfarlane & Co.'s Saracen Foundry for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition (1901), Glasgow ...

in cast iron for the Kelvingrove International Exhibition of 1901. It was later moved to

Alexandra Park, Glasgow Alexandra Park is a public park in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located in Dennistoun, east of the city centre. Named after Princess Alexandra of Denmark, it opened in 1870. The highest point of the park gives views north to Ben L ...

. This included a repeat of three figures from an earlier monument to

John Platt (MP) John Platt (16 September 1817 – 18 May 1872) was an English manufacturer of textile machinery and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. Platt was born at Dobcross, West Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Henry Platt who founded Platt Brothers ...

in Oldham (1878). Copies were made for Town Hall Park in Warrington (destroyed 1942) and the Sammy Marks Zoological Gardens in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, South Africa. In 1868, he created the impressive Celtic cross as a memorial to

Horatio McCulloch Horatio McCulloch (9 November 1805 – 24 June 1867), sometimes written MacCulloch or M'Culloch, was a Scottish landscape painter. Life He was born in Glasgow 9 November 1805 the son of Alexander McCulloch, a cotton merchant, and his wife, M ...

on his grave in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and o ...

. In 1884, he created the statue of Hygieia with Thomas Bonnar's classical "St Bernard's Well" in

Stockbridge, Edinburgh Stockbridge is a district of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic languages, Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. ...

. In December 1897, he received a commission from The Burns Club of Leith to create a bronze statue of Robert Burns. The statue was unveiled on October 17, 1898.

Gallery

File:Robert Tannahill by David Watson Stevenson.JPG, Robert Tannahill by David Watson Stevenson File:Detail on Robert Tannahill's statue by David Watson Stevenson.JPG, Detail on Robert Tannahill's statue by David Watson Stevenson File:Robert Louis Stevenson by David Watson Stevenson, SNPG.JPG, Robert Louis Stevenson by David Watson Stevenson File:Horatio McCulloch's grave in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh.JPG, Horatio McCulloch's monument File:The Foundling Girl by David Watson Stevenson (1871).jpg, The Foundling Girl (1871) File:St Bernard's Well 02.jpg, Statue of

Hygieia Hygieia is a goddess from Greek mythology (more commonly spelled Hygeia, sometimes Hygiea; ; or , or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her name is the source for the word "hygiene". Hygieia devel ...

References

External links

*
Royal Scottish Academy obituary for David Watson Stevenson
* Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement
Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951
(list of works)
National Galleries Scotland: David Watson Stevenson
(bust of

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

)
David Watson Stevenson
at Find A Grave
Glasgow Sculpture: Biography of David Watson Stevenson, R.S.A.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, David Watson Scottish sculptors Scottish male sculptors 1842 births 1904 deaths Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Burials at the Grange Cemetery Artists from Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish sculptors People from Midlothian Royal Scottish Academicians Sibling artists