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The Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS) is a British charity established in 1905, which promotes excellence in the art and practice of
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on
Old Brompton Road Old Brompton Road is a major street in the South Kensington district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It starts from South Kensington tube station, South Kensington Underground station and runs south-west, through a ma ...
in
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 ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. It is the oldest and largest organisation dedicated to sculpture in the UK. Until 2017, it was known as the Royal British Society of Sculptors. The Royal Society of Sculptors is a registered charity with a selective membership of around 700 professional sculptors. It aims to inspire, inform and engage people of all ages and backgrounds with sculpture, and to support sculptors' development of their practice to the highest professional standards.


History

It began as the Society of British Sculptors in 1905, in its first year it had 51 sculptor members. They received royal patronage in 1911, and were renamed the Royal Society of British Sculptors The Society gained charitable status in recognition of its educational activities in 1963. In 1976, the late sculptor Cecil Thomas donated Dora House, 108 Old Brompton Road which has been its headquarters ever since. In 2003 they renamed again to the Royal British Society of Sculptors in recognition of growing international membership before becoming the Royal Society of Sculptors in 2017.


Structure


Patronage

The society has received Royal Patronage since 1911 and
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
is the society's current Patron.


Governance

The society was founded as a company limited by guarantee in 1905 and has been a registered charity since 1963. It is a selective membership-based organisation, whose members elect its governing council. The council meets regularly to review applications and select new members. The current president of the Board is Laura Ford.


Membership

There are two types of membership: Members (formerly known as Associates until 2014) and Fellows, who are entitled to use the MRSS and FRSS
post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...
. Presidents of the society are entitled to use the post-nominal letters PRSS and Vice Presidents VPRSS.


Awards


Current


First Plinth: Public Art Award

Formerly FIRST@108: Public Art Award, the First Plinth is a biennial £10,000 award to contribute towards the production costs of producing a large-scale sculpture, thereby offering competing sculptors the opportunity to extend their practice into competing for public art commissions. Open to any artist working in three dimensions. The award is supported by the Mirisch & Lebenheim Charitable Foundation. The current winner of the First Plinth: Public Art Award 2021 is Polly Morgan.


= Past winners

=


Grizedale Residency

With thanks to the Brian Mercer Charitable Trust the Society offers an annual residency opportunity based at Grizedale Forest. This intensive six-week-long residency aims to foster experimentation and innovation in response to the natural environment. Past winners * Susan Stockwell (2021) * Florian Houlker (2021) * Karolin Schwab (2019) * Ben Allan (2019)


Spotlight Award

Founded in 2017, Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer is a private sculpture park in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
that surveys the breadth of contemporary sculptural practice. A new area of woodland has been opened out to create an environment for an artist to install a single large work or a series of works creating a solo installation. Society members and fellows are invited to propose new or recent work that is suitable for display outside over summer. The Spotlight exhibition is included on the route taken by all visitors to the gardens, but it is also separate and distinct from the rest of the sculpture trail, and as such applicants are encouraged to engage with the idea of it as a solo exhibition en plain air. The successful applicant works closely with director George Marsh. The current winner is Daniel Solomons. Past winners * Tim Ellis (2021) * Rosie Leventon (2020) * Amale Freiha Khlat (2019) * Marco Miehling (2018)


Gilbert Bayes Award

Established in 2000 as the RBS Bursary Awards, it was renamed in 2018 after the artist
Gilbert Bayes Gilbert William Bayes (4 April 1872 – 10 July 1953) was an English sculptor. His art works varied in scale from medals to large architectural clocks, monuments and equestrian statues and he was also a designer of some note, creating chess piec ...
, whose charitable trust supports the awards. This is an annual award made to a small group of emerging sculptors that the society has judged to be of outstanding talent and potential. It is designed to aid them in the transition to full professional practice, by giving them a package of professional support including an annual membership of the society. The award is open to sculptors of any age, nationality, with or without formal training and working in any medium. Past winners include: Alex Chinneck, Tessa Farmer and William Mackrell.


Eilean Shona Residency

The wilderness island of
Eilean Shona Eilean Shona () is a tidal island situated at the entrance of Moidart, Loch Moidart, on the west coast of Scotland, just north of the Ardnamurchan, Ardnamurchan Peninsula. The island is in area, with the highest point being Beinn a' Bhàillidh a ...
has long been an inspiration for artists and writers. To further build upon this legacy, a members-only residency has been created - a month-long opportunity for a winning member of the Royal Society of Sculptors to live on the island and reflect upon and respond to the natural environment. Past winners * Mhairi Vari (2022)


Red House Residency

For Benjamin Britten – one of the foremost composers of the 20th century – a quiet place to compose was absolutely essential. He was fortunate enough to achieve this for most of his life, spending his last two decades at The Red House, down a quiet lane on the outskirts of Aldeburgh, Suffolk. This new creative retreat at The Red House is open to women members of the Royal Society of Sculptors to spend time in Suffolk on a peaceful, creative retreat. Past winners * Hannah Honeywill (2020) Thread Residency ''Thread'' is a residency programme and cultural centre that allows local and international artists to live and work in Sinthian, a rural village in Tambacounda, the southeastern region of Senegal. It houses two artists’ dwellings, as well as ample indoor and outdoor studio space. Past winners * Julian Wild (2020)


Past awards


Brian Mercer Residencies

Two annual scholarships for society members to experiment with stone or bronze under instruction from master craftsmen in
Pietrasanta Pietrasanta is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of northern Tuscany in Italy, in the province of Lucca. Pietrasanta is part of Versilia, on the last foothills of the Apuan Alps, about north of Pisa. The town is located off the coast, where the ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
enable sculptors to learn the technical aspects of the carving or casting process were supported by the Brian Mercer Charitable Trust. Lady Feodora Gleichen Memorial Fund (1938–1988) The Feodora Gleichen Memorial Fund was an annual award of £100 for women sculptors and was made from works shown at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition or any other exhibition at which works by female sculptors were shown. The Funds were administered by the Royal Academy from 1923 – 1938, after which management passed into the hands of the Royal Society of Sculptors. The fund was established following the death of
Lady Feodora Gleichen Lady Feodora Georgina Maud Gleichen (20 December 1861 – 22 February 1922) was a British sculptor of figures and portrait busts and designer of decorative objects. Background Born Countess Feodora Georgina Maud von Gleichen, she was the el ...
, who was posthumously voted as one of the first female members of the Society alongside
Christine Gregory Christine Gregory (1879–10 February 1963) was a British sculptor and potter. She was among the first women elected as a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. Biography Gregory was born and lived in London. Her father was a mineral ...
and
Flora Kendrick Florence Ada Kendrick, later Flora Shipp, (1880–1969) was a British artist, notable both as a watercolour painter and sculptor of bronze busts and statuettes. Biography Kendrick was born in Margate in southern England, and her father, Joseph Th ...
. Winners included
Anne Acheson Anne Crawford Acheson (5 August 1882 – 13 March 1962) was a British-Irish sculptor. She and Elinor Hallé invented plaster casts for soldier's broken limbs. Acheson exhibited at the Royal Academy and internationally. She was awarded the CB ...
, Rosamund Fletcher, Karen Jonzen,
Lorne McKean Lorne McKean (born 1939) is an English sculptor. She studied at the Guildford School of Art and the Royal Academy School, before being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS) is a Br ...
and
Olivia Musgrave Olivia Musgrave, Baroness Gardiner of Kimble (born 1958) is an Irish sculptor. Biography Olivia Musgrave was born in Dublin in 1958. She studied Political Science in Paris and lived in Italy. She then studied at the City and Guilds of London ...
.


Otto Beit medal

For many years the society awarded the Otto Beit medal, named after and funded by the philanthropist Sir
Otto Beit Sir Otto John Beit, 1st Baronet, KCMG, FRS (7 December 1865 – 7 December 1930) was a German-born British financier, philanthropist and art connoisseur. Life history and career Beit was born in Hamburg, Germany, the younger brother of Alfr ...
. Winners of the medal include Michael Clark, Sean Crampton, Philip Jackson,
Franta Belsky František Bělský (as artist used the name Franta Belsky; in Czech Franta Bělský, 6 April 1921 – 5 July 2000) was a Czech-British sculptor. He was known for large-scale abstract works of public art as well as more iconographic statues ...
,
David Annand David Annand MRSS (born 1948) is a Scottish sculptor. Education Annand studied at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in the city of Dundee. He taught in secondary schools for fourteen years. Art Annand lives and works in Kilmany in t ...
, Dennis Huntley,
John W. Mills John William Mills (4 March 1933 – 24 October 2023) was an English sculptor. He studied at Hammersmith School of Art, 1947–54, and at the Royal College of Art, 1956–60. He was a resident at Digswell Arts Trust, Digswell House 1962–66, ...
, Michael Rizzello and Judith Bluck.


Sculpture Shock

Launched in 2013, Sculpture Shock encouraged surprising site-specific spatial interventions in non-traditional spaces outside the confines of a gallery. Three sculptors were awarded £3,000 and a three-month residency in Kensington. The artists then exhibited in one of three environments: Subterranean (the unseen world underneath the city), Ambulatory (without physical confines in movement through space and time) and Historic (an illustrious building in London). Sculpture Shock was supported by private philanthropists.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Society Of Sculptors British sculpture Organisations based in London with royal patronage Charities based in London
Sculptors Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
Art societies Grade II listed buildings in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea 1905 establishments in the United Kingdom