Elizabeth Strachan Dempster, ARSA, (23 April 1909 – 17 January 1987) was a Scottish sculptor.

Biography

Dempster was born on 23 April 1909 in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

, Scotland to Elizabeth Watt and Duncan Dempster, a sugar refiner. Around 1928, after her parents' deaths, she moved to Edinburgh to be with her guardian, Dr Charles Warr, minister at

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; ...

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 ...

and Honorary Chaplain to the King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

and later the Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Dempster studied sculpture at

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

(1930). Her tutors included the sculptors

Alexander Carrick Alexander Carrick (20 February 1882 – 26 January 1966) was a Scottish sculptor. He was one of Scotland's leading monumental sculptors of the early part of the 20th century. He was responsible for many architectural and ecclesiastical works ...

and Norman John Forrest, and she studied alongside the sculptors

Hew Lorimer Hew Martin Lorimer, OBE (22 May 1907 – 1 September 1993) was a Scottish sculptor. Early life He was born in Edinburgh, the second son of architect Sir Robert Lorimer. He was educated at Loretto School in Musselburgh, then at Magdalen Colle ...

, Thomas W. Whalen and Scott Sutherland. Dempster also trained further in London at

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...

and at

Munich Academy The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

in Germany. In the late 1930s, Dempster was commissioned to produce three large carvings in oak, two of angels and one of the biblical figure Jubal, for the new organ case at St Giles' Cathedral. Her work on the pieces was in danger of being delayed because she had been called up for service as a

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

nurse at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, given the public importance of the work, the Red Cross released her from her duties so that she might complete it. Her first commission was ''Seahorse'' for the Clyde Navigation Trust which was shown at the 1938 Empire Exhibition at

Bellahouston Park Bellahouston Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Bhaile Ùisdean'') is a public park in the Bellahouston district on the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Craigton, Dumbreck, Ibrox and Mosspark covering an area of . The mai ...

. Dempster designed and carved the first and fifth monoliths of the Royal Scots Monument in

Princes Street Gardens Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, ...

in Edinburgh. The monument was unveiled on 26 July 1952. In the early 1950s, Dempster was commissioned to design and carve the

roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

s that sit above seven figures carved by Hew Lorimer, on the facade of the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

building. Dempster was responsible for two wood carvings at St Swithun's Church in

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

, one of which is of

St Swithun Swithun (or Swithin; ; ; died 863) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. Accordin ...

. Dempster was elected as an Associate 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 ...

in 1960. She regularly exhibited her work at the academy's annual Exhibition of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The first piece she exhibited was ''St Bridget'' in 1935. In 1946, her piece ''Mors Janua vitae'' won an award from the RSA for which she received a prize of £50. Dempster died on 17 January 1987 in Edinburgh.

Works

A selection of Dempster's works, several of which are held in the collections of the Royal Scottish Academy and

National Galleries of Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

. * St Bridget (1935) * Alfred Ernest Warr 1899-1937 (1937) * Thought (1937) * A member of a committee (1938) * Seahorse (1938) * The denial (1939) * Mother and child (1946) * Cock (1946) * Mors Janua vitae (1946) * Housewives (1947) * Black queen (1947) * Four ducks on a pond (1948) * There were shepherds abiding in a field (1948) * Bear (1949) * St Cuthbert and the otters (1950) * Jacob and the angel (1950) * Maggie (1951) SCN 0034

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dempster, Elizabeth 1909 births 1987 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century Scottish women artists 20th-century British women sculptors Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Artists from Greenock Scottish women sculptors