Ralph Brown (1928 – 2013) was an English sculptor who came to national prominence in the late 1950s with his large-scale bronze ''Meat Porters'', commissioned for Harlow New Town, Essex and is known for his sensual, figurative sculptures.

Early career

Ralph Brown was born in Leeds, and is the younger contemporary of the eminent group of Yorkshire sculptors that include

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadin ...

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and

Kenneth Armitage William Kenneth Armitage (18 July 1916 – 22 January 2002) was a British sculptor known for his semi-abstract bronzes. Life Armitage was born in Leeds on July 18, 1916, the youngest of three children studied at the Leeds College of Art and t ...

. Between 1948 and 1951 he studied at

Leeds College of Art Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds. History It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Sc ...

, where both Moore and Hepworth attended. He then spent a year at Hammersmith School of Art before entering 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 ...

in 1952 where he was taught by

Frank Dobson Frank Gordon Dobson (15 March 1940 – 11 November 2019) was a British Labour Party politician. As Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St. Pancras from 1979 to 2015, he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 ...

, John Skeaping and

Leon Underwood George Claude Leon Underwood (25 December 1890 – 9 October 1975) was a British artist, although primarily known as a sculptor, printmaker and painter, he was also an influential teacher and promotor of African art. His travels in Mexico a ...

. He won a number of scholarships including a trip to Paris to work in the studio of

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where he also saw work by

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

and Germain Richier and met

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. In 1957 he won the Boise Scholarship to Italy where he was inspired by the work of Marino Marini and Giacomo Manzu. Brown also worked in Cannes making mosaics for

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Style and technique

who befriended him and encouraged him by buying his work, Brown's art is deeply rooted in the figurative tradition. However, whilst his predecessors focused their energies on carving and maintaining 'truth to materials', Brown concentrated on modelling allowing him to interact with his material on a more intimate level. In the introductory catalogue essay for Brown's major retrospective show at Leeds City Art Gallery in 1988 Dennis Farr commented: "So much of Brown's sculpture is his search for equivalents, in formal terms, for sensual experiences."

Harlow New Town Commission

Brown came to national prominence in the late 1950s with his large-scale bronze group Meat Porters, commissioned for Harlow New Town, Essex. The piece is a tribute to physical labour with two figures hauling an ox carcass, a subject fitting to the busy market square and a form that brings dynamism to the otherwise rigid architecture. The concrete version of the piece won second prize for sculpture at the John Moore's Exhibition,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in 1959.

Recognition

During the 1950s Brown's work attracted much critical acclaim and was shown alongside his contemporaries

, William Turnbull and

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi was born on 7 M ...

. Brown was elected a

Royal Academician 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 1972 and his work can be found in many prestigious public collections including the

Tate Collection Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

Leeds City Art Gallery Leeds Art Gallery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a gallery, part of the Leeds Museums & Galleries group, whose collection of 20th-century British Art was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance ...

and many other public collections in Britain and overseas. Brown had a major retrospective at Leeds City Art Gallery in 1988. Ralph Brown is represented by Pangolin London.

Public collections

*Aberdeen Art Gallery, Scotland *Albright-Knox Collection, Buffalo, USA *Arts Council of Great Britain *Cass Foundation, Sculpture at Goodwood, UK *Chantrey Bequest Collection, UK *City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, UK *Contemporary Art Society, London *Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery UK *Halifax Art Gallery, UK *Hepworth Wakefield Gallery, UK *Huddersfield Art Gallery, UK *The Ingram Collection UK *Leeds City Galleries, UK *National Museum of Wales, Cardiff *Norfolk Contemporary Art Society, UK *Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, Netherlands *Royal Academy of Arts, London *Royal College of Art, London *Royal West of England Academy, Bristol UK *Salzburg State Museum, Austria *Southport Art Gallery, UK *Stuyvesant Foundation, RSA *Tate Britain. *University of Liverpool, UK *West Riding Education Committee UK

Public sculpture

*''Meat Porters'' (1959–60). Sited in the Market Square at Harlow New Town, Essex in 1961 *Market Place Fountain, Hatfield New Town, arranged through the Chairman of Digswell Arts Trust, now re-sited in front of the Sports Centre, 1962 *Liverpool University, Engineering Block. Relief purchased by Eugene Rosenberg with FRS Yorke and CS Mardall, 1966 *London, Manufacturers' Hanover Bank, David Ichbald, designer, commissioned bronze wave forms as large wall relief, 1970 *''The Patriarch, Jambo''. Commissioned by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust for Jersey Zoo as a memorial to the famous gorilla, 1995 *''Meat Porters'' (1957–1960) exhibited at Sculpture at Goodwood, West Sussex, 2000–2008

Solo exhibitions

*2016, Ralph Brown & the Figure in the Fifties and Sixties. Pangolin London *2015, Ralph Brown, Nine Sculptures. 108 Fine Art, Harrogate, Yorkshire *2014, Ralph Brown RA: A Memorial Exhibition, Pangolin London *2009, Ralph Brown at Eighty: The Early Decades Revisited, Pangolin London *2005, Number Nine Gallery, Birmingham *1999, Bruton Gallery, Leeds *1996, Alpha House Gallery, Sherborne, Dorset *1995, Napier Gallery, St Helier, Jersey *1988, Leeds City Art Gallery/Henry Moore Institute *1988, Mead Gallery, University of Warwick Arts Centre *1987, Eton Art Gallery, Windsor *1987, Beaux Arts Bath *1986, Solomon Gallery, London *1985, Long Island Gallery, New York *1984, Charles Foley Gallery, Columbus, Ohio *1983, Beaux Arts, Bath *1983, Puck Building, New York *1979, Browse and Darby, London *1976, Robert Welch Gallery, Chipping Campden *1976, Taranman Gallery, London *1975, Galerie H, Marseille *1974, Galerie Dortindeguey, Montpellier *1973, Gunther Franke, Munich drawings *1972, Archer Gallery, London *1972, Traklhaus Galerie, Salzburg Festival *1971, Form International, London *1964, Bangor University, Wales *1964, Forum Gallery, Bristol *1963, Leicester Galleries, London *1961, Leicester Galleries, London

Publications

*' *' * *'

References

External links

*
Ralph Brown at Pangolin London

Obituary: ''The Guardian'' 9 May 2013

Obituary: ''The Times'' June 8 2013

Obituary: The ''Yorkshire Post'' 20 April 2013

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ralph 1928 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Leeds Arts University Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from Leeds English male sculptors Geometry of Fear English modern sculptors Royal Academicians