Marcus Cornish is a contemporary British sculptor. After obtaining a First Class Honours degree in sculpture at

Camberwell School of Art Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

, he went on to gain a Master of Arts degree at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

.Marcus Cornish - Career Outline
Supplementary document (PDF) accompanying his application to be considered for the work of creating the sculpture of Jesus Christ for the Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Church in Uckfield, East Sussex A scholarship enabled him to spend time in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, studying the work of traditional Aiyanar potter priests, and his Master's thesis was about their work crafting terracotta horses for Aiyanar shrines in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. In 1993 he was elected a Member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. He spent time as official tour artist with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in Kosovo, and again as official tour artist on a diplomatic tour of Eastern Europe by

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. He is an Academic Board member, and occasional tutor, of The Prince's Drawing School - a charitable trust founded by the Prince of Wales that provides a wide range of courses focused on drawing and painting skills.

Works

Statue PaddingtonBear PaddingtonStn DMS 06122005-002-1

In 2000, he created a life-size bronze statue of Paddington Bear, the fictional

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

from Darkest Peru, that stands in

Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

in London. He was commissioned by a property developer to create five bronze statues of Scottish wild animals. One of them, a greater-than-life-size statue of a red deer stag, was placed in St. James's Square, London, in 2002. In 2004, he was involved in a collaborative project to create a memorial to recipients of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

and

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

medals, which was installed in the Pillared Hall in the

Ministry of Defence Main Building The Ministry of Defence Main Building or MOD Main Building, also known as MOD Whitehall or originally as the Whitehall Gardens Building, is a Listed building, grade I listed government office building located on Whitehall in London. The building ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, London, and dedicated on 2 November 2004. The memorial consists of a stained glass window, designed and created by Rachel Foster and the Eastwood Senior Citizens Art Project Enterprise (ESCAPE), and a 16-foot high bronze column from which emerges, at the top, a powerful figure, 'Courage', designed and created by Marcus Cornish. In 2005, he was Sculptor-in-Residence at the

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

, and subsequently exhibited the clay and plaster sculptures he created during that time and based on his observations and experience there, under the title "Impressions from a London Seam". In 2008, he was commissioned to create a sculpture of

St John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on h ...

for the parish church of that name in Heron's Ghyll in Sussex. The statue was dedicated on 11 January 2009 by Bishop Kieran Conry. In 2008–2009, he was commissioned to create a bronze statue of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

to mark the 50th anniversary of the Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Church in

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District, Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology "Uck ...

, East Sussex. The statue, which was installed on the front of the church in May 2009, depicts a very contemporary figure, wearing a shirt and loose trousers. It was immediately dubbed "Jesus in Jeans" by the media, and was widely reported and commented on.Church wants Jesus in jeans statue to connect with community
''Jenna Lyle'', Christian Today, 14 May 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish, Marcus English sculptors English male sculptors Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Art Year of birth missing (living people)

Works

See also

References