Edmund Thomas Wyatt Ware (29 September 1883–26 July 1960) was a British teacher and sculptor. He was born in Plaistow in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in 1883, the son of Emma (1858-) and Edmund Labdon Ware (1852-1939), a police constable. Ware studied at the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in London where he received a silver medal and a prize of £5. He first registered his mark as an independent silversmith in October 1903, and a figural silver spoon crafted by him in 1904 is in the Pear Tree Collection. He taught goldsmithing and jewellery at the

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Crafts. ...

(1905-1940). In the 1911 Census he was listed as 'Artist, Sculptor' and his place of employment as 52 Doughty Street in London. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Ware served as a Private in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

, in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

, and as a Sapper in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. Ware was elected a member of the

Royal Society of British Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS) 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 in South Kensington, Lo ...

in 1916 and acted as its vice-president between 1948 and 1953. He became a Fellow in 1943. Among others, Ware exhibited his work at: the

Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of me ...

(1910); the

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...

(1913, 1914, 1934, 1935 and 1940), and at the

Royal Cambrian Academy of Art The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art (RCA) is a centre of excellence for art in Wales. Its main gallery is located in Conwy and it has over a hundred members. 240px, Plas Mawr, Conwy Early history During the 19th century there were numerous attempt ...

Fifty-Third Annual Exhibition (1935).'Edmund Thomas Wyatt Ware', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 201
Edmund Thomas Wyatt Ware
accessed 01 Jul 2023 In 1940 he took up sculpting as a profession. In 1947 he sculpted the replacement plaque on the front of the Gerrards Cross Memorial Building. In 1914 in London he married Theodora Margaret Sothern Lancaster (1885-1977), the older sister of the artist Lilian Lancaster (1886-1973). The engagement ring, designed and crafted by Ware in 1912, is displayed in the Jewellery Gallery of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London.Engagement ring (1912)
Collection of the

Their daughter was the lithographer and enamelist Margaret Reade née Tennant Ware (1916-2006) and their son was John Lancaster Ware (1920-2004). In his later years Ware lived at 18 Gunter Grove in Chelsea in London. He died in 1960 and in his will left an estate valued at £8982 11s. 3d. to his widow.Edmund Thomas Wyatt Ware in England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Edmund 1883 births 1960 deaths People from Plaistow, Newham Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Academics of the Central School of Art and Design English silversmiths English goldsmiths English jewellers Fellows of the Royal British Society of Sculptors 20th-century British sculptors British male sculptors 20th-century British male artists British Army personnel of World War I