Thomas Stirling Lee (

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 ...

, 16 March 1857 – 29 June 1916,

) was an English

sculptor 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 ...

, specialising in reliefs and portrait heads.

Early life

Lee was born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

, London on 16 March 1857, the son of John Swanwick Lee, a surveyor. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and then served as an apprentice in the studio of

John Birnie Philip John Birnie Philip (23 November 1824 – 2 March 1875) was a nineteenth-century English sculptor. Much of his work was carried out for the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. Life Philip was born in London, the son of William and Elizabeth Ph ...

. Lee 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 ...

from 1876 to 1880, where he won both a Gold Medal and a Travelling Scholarship. In 1880–1881 he studied under

Pierre-Jules Cavelier Pierre-Jules Cavelier (30 August 1814, in Paris – 28 January 1894, in Paris) was a French academic sculptor. Biography The son of a silversmith and furniture maker, Cavelier was born in Paris. He was a student of the sculptors David d'Angers ...

at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in Paris, and then studied in Rome until 1883.

Career

Stirling Lee's commission for 28 panels for the exterior of

St George's Hall, Liverpool St George's Hall is a building on St George's Place, opposite Liverpool Lime Street railway station, Lime Street railway station in Liverpool city centre, the centre of Liverpool, England. Opened in 1854, it is a Neoclassical architecture, Neocla ...

, resulting from an open competition held by

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous ...

in 1882, is regarded as his most important, but it was the subject of controversy, when the first two featured naked girls, depicting "the child Justice" and "the girl Justice". Lee only completed six of the 28 panels, but was subsequently commissioned to make two, and oversee all, of a further set of six on the theme of 'National Prosperity'. Stirling Lee cast a number of bronze portrait reliefs (medallions) of friends and personalities. Examples are to be seen, e.g., in the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

, Cambridge, 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 ...

, London, and in private collections. IMG-20240612-WA0003 - Copy-modified

He was a member of the National Portrait Society from 1910 to 1915, building a studio in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

. He was a member and twice chairman of the

Chelsea Arts Club Chelsea Arts Club is a private members' club at 143 Old Church Street in Chelsea, London with a membership of over 4,000, including artists, sculptors, architects, writers, designers, actors, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers. The club wa ...

and a member of the

International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers was a union of professional artists that existed from 1898 to 1925, "To promote the study, practice, and knowledge of sculpture, painting, etching, lithographing, engraving, and kindred ...

. Stirling Lee was an active member of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of al ...

and was elected Master in 1898. Falling unconscious in the arcade at South Kensington Station, Stirling Lee died at

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It shares its main hospital site i ...

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, London on 29 June 1916. His friends subscribed to a fund for a bronze panel on the family vault at

New Southgate New Southgate is a residential suburb straddling three Outer London Boroughs: a small part of the east of Barnet, a south-west corner of Enfield and in loosest definitions, based on nearest railway stations, a small northern corner of Haringe ...

Works

Lee's work includes: *

Bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s for

Leeds Town Hall Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...

* Carvings for

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

statue of

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the ...

, First Bishop of Birmingham, outside Birmingham Cathedral (1914) - * The Progress of Justice series of bas reliefs, left of the central portico on Saint George's Hall, Liverpool, 1885–1894 * The National Progress series, right of the portico on Saint George's Hall, 1898–1901 * Doors with scenes of male friendship, Adelphi Bank, Liverpool

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Thomas Stirling 1857 births 1916 deaths 20th-century English sculptors 19th-century English sculptors Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Artists from the London Borough of Lambeth British alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts English male sculptors People educated at Westminster School, London People from Lambeth Sculptors from London