He was the son of John Brodie, a Banff shipmaster, and elder brother of Alexander Brodie (1830–1867), also a sculptor. When he was about six years old, his family moved to Aberdeen. William Brodie was later apprenticed to a plumber, studying in his spare time at the Mechanic's Institute, where he amused himself by casting lead figures of well-known people. He soon began to model small medallion portraits which attracted the attention of John Hill Burton. It was Burton who encouraged him to go to Edinburgh in 1847. Here Brodie studied for four years at the Trustees' School of Design, learning to model on a larger scale, and also executing a bust of one of his earliest patrons, Lord Jeffrey.[1] At this time he lived at 14 Heriot Place in the Lauriston district of Edinburgh.[2]
About 1853 he went to Rome, where he studied under Lawrence Macdonald, and it was with the latter's assistance that he modelled "Corinna, the Lyric Muse", a work which Copeland reproduced in miniature in Parian four years later. He was elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) in 1857, and Royal Scottish Academician in 1859. In 1876 he was appointed secretary of the RSA, a post he held until his death.
In 1875, he made the group of "A Peer and His Lady Doing Homage" for the Prince Consort Memorial in Edinburgh.
Brodie exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1850–1881, and at the Royal Scottish Academy, 1847–1881; at the Great Exhibition of 1851 he showed a group of "Little Nell and Her Grandfather" (characters from Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop). His most famous work is probably the Greyfriars Bobby Fountain.
Brodie died at his home at 9 Cambridge Street,[3] Edinburgh, on 30 October 1881. He is buried with his wife and daughter in the Dean Cemetery under a simple granite monument surmounted by an urn, unlike his far grander monuments to others around him. The grave lies on the north side of the main east-west path, west of the large Beattie obelisk. The urn bears a carving of a caterpillar being reborn as a butterfly, a Greek symbol indicating a belief in reincarnation or a second life beyond death.
Brodie was married to Helen Chisholm (1817–1886). Their daughter Mary Brodie married the Edinburgh architect, Sir James Gowans. Both are buried with him in Dean Cemetery.
Statue of Dr Thomas Graham, George Square, Glasgow (1872)
The Greyfriars Bobby Fountain on the corner of George IV Bridge and Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh (1872)
Statue of St. Andrew on the Life Insurance Building, 28–36 Renfield Street Glasgow (1872). Opposite a statue of St. Mungo by G E Ewing. Demolished 1929.
Bust of Mrs Farquharson of Invercauld (exhibited RSA 1873)
Figure of "Young Scholar" on the Buchanan Institute, Greenhead Street, Glasgow (1873)
Monument to Dr Thomas Guthrie in St Columba's Free Church on Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh (1873)
Bust of John Boyd Baxter, Procurator Fiscal and benefactor of the University of Dundee – Dundee Sheriff Court (1874)
Moquette for statue of David Livingstone to stand in George Square Glasgow for a competition. This model is now within the David Livingstone Museum at High Blantyre (1875).
The carving of the "Moffat Ram" on the William Colvin Drinking Fountain, Moffat (1875).
Monument to Dr Thomas Guthrie, St. John's Church, Princes St, Edinburgh (1875)
Figures of "The Nobility" and a bronze relief scene from the Great Exhibition on the Prince Albert Memorial in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh (1876) (main figure by Sir John Steell commissioned in 1865, unveiled in 1876).
Statuary group "The Genius of Architecture crowning the Theory and Practice of Art" now in Princes Street Gardens but originally in Sir James Gowans house on Napier Road in Merchiston, Edinburgh ("Rockville") now demolished. Date unknown. Probably built with the house, possibly as a wedding present to Gowans as his son-in-law (see above).
Bust of James Nelson, Glasgow Art Gallery (date unknown)
Bust of Professor John Stuart Blackie, Scottish National Portrait Gallery (date unknown)
Bust of Robert Herdman, Scottish National Portrait Gallery (date unknown)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Brodie (sculptor).
Short biography at glasgowsculpture.com
January 06, 2023
william, brodie, sculptor, william, brodie, january, 1815, october, 1881, scottish, sculptor, worked, edinburgh, william, brodie, john, phillip, william, brodie, john, phillip, contents, life, family, trained, brodie, list, works, references, further, reading,. William Brodie 22 January 1815 30 October 1881 was a Scottish sculptor who worked in Edinburgh 1 William Brodie by John Phillip William Brodie by John Phillip Contents 1 Life 2 Family 3 Trained by Brodie 4 List of works 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksLife EditHe was the son of John Brodie a Banff shipmaster and elder brother of Alexander Brodie 1830 1867 also a sculptor When he was about six years old his family moved to Aberdeen William Brodie was later apprenticed to a plumber studying in his spare time at the Mechanic s Institute where he amused himself by casting lead figures of well known people He soon began to model small medallion portraits which attracted the attention of John Hill Burton It was Burton who encouraged him to go to Edinburgh in 1847 Here Brodie studied for four years at the Trustees School of Design learning to model on a larger scale and also executing a bust of one of his earliest patrons Lord Jeffrey 1 At this time he lived at 14 Heriot Place in the Lauriston district of Edinburgh 2 About 1853 he went to Rome where he studied under Lawrence Macdonald and it was with the latter s assistance that he modelled Corinna the Lyric Muse a work which Copeland reproduced in miniature in Parian four years later He was elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy RSA in 1857 and Royal Scottish Academician in 1859 In 1876 he was appointed secretary of the RSA a post he held until his death In 1875 he made the group of A Peer and His Lady Doing Homage for the Prince Consort Memorial in Edinburgh Brodie exhibited at the Royal Academy 1850 1881 and at the Royal Scottish Academy 1847 1881 at the Great Exhibition of 1851 he showed a group of Little Nell and Her Grandfather characters from Dickens The Old Curiosity Shop His most famous work is probably the Greyfriars Bobby Fountain Brodie died at his home at 9 Cambridge Street 3 Edinburgh on 30 October 1881 He is buried with his wife and daughter in the Dean Cemetery under a simple granite monument surmounted by an urn unlike his far grander monuments to others around him The grave lies on the north side of the main east west path west of the large Beattie obelisk The urn bears a carving of a caterpillar being reborn as a butterfly a Greek symbol indicating a belief in reincarnation or a second life beyond death Family Edit The grave of Brodie at Dean Cemetery Brodie was married to Helen Chisholm 1817 1886 Their daughter Mary Brodie married the Edinburgh architect Sir James Gowans Both are buried with him in Dean Cemetery Trained by Brodie EditAmelia Robertson Hill 1820 1904 David Watson Stevenson 1842 1904 List of works EditExtended contentBust of Sir Thomas Dick Lauder exhibited at RSA 1847 Bronze statue of Hercules 1850 now at Portmeirion Wales Statuary group Little Nell and her Grandfather at the Great Exhibition 1851 Bust of Lord Jeffrey exhibited at RSA 1850 Bust of Lord Cockburn exhibited at RSA 1855 Now in the NE corner of Parliament Hall in Edinburgh s Law Courts Bust of the Duke of Argyll for Dunrobin Castle 1855 Statue of Hecamede for the Rt Hon Henry Labouchere 1856 Bust of Lord Alfred Tennyson exhibited at RSA 1857 Bust of Lord Dunfermline Scottish National Portrait Gallery 1858 Statue of Oenone Avington Park Hants 1858 Bust Laura at Bowood 1858 Bust of Hugh Miller Scottish National Portrait Gallery 1858 James Buchanan Monument Dean Cemetery Edinburgh 1860 Bust of George Kinnaird National Gallery of Scotland 1860 Memorial to the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders in the Indian Mutiny within St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh 1860 Bronze relief portrait on the gravestone of Rev Duncan MacFarlan Glasgow Necropolis 1860 Statue of Dr Thomas Alexander director general of the Army Medical Department during the Crimean War Prestonpans 1862 Bust of Professor John Stuart Blackie Scottish National Portrait Gallery 1863 Funerary monument to John Graham Gilbert Glasgow Necropolis 1863 Monument to the 71st Highland Light Infantry in Glasgow Cathedral 1863 Bas relief heads of the Cowans flanking the doorway of the Royal Bank Stationery Warehouse on West Register Street Edinburgh 1864 Statue of Albert Prince Consort Perth 1864 Statue of Lady Kinnaird exhibited Royal Academy 1866 Bas relief portrait heads of Alexander Runciman and John Runciman on the west outer wall of Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile Edinburgh 1866 Bust of Queen Victoria Balmoral 1868 Bust of Dr Adams University of Aberdeen 1868 Monument to Alexander Smith Warriston Cemetery 1868 Bust of John Phillip RA exhibited Royal Academy 1868 Bust of Alexander MacDuff of Bonhard Perth Museum 1868 Bust of Miss Ada Barclay Scottish National Gallery 1869 Marble statue of John Graham Gilbert in Kelvingrove Art Gallery Glasgow 1870 Marble bust of Thomas Jamieson Boyd Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1871 4 Statue of Dr Thomas Graham George Square Glasgow 1872 The Greyfriars Bobby Fountain on the corner of George IV Bridge and Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh 1872 Statue of St Andrew on the Life Insurance Building 28 36 Renfield Street Glasgow 1872 Opposite a statue of St Mungo by G E Ewing Demolished 1929 Bust of Mrs Farquharson of Invercauld exhibited RSA 1873 Figure of Young Scholar on the Buchanan Institute Greenhead Street Glasgow 1873 Monument to Dr Thomas Guthrie in St Columba s Free Church on Johnston Terrace Edinburgh 1873 Monument to Rev John Paul in St Cuthbert s Edinburgh 1873 Bust of Baroness Burdett Coutts for the Coutts Bank 1873 Portrait medallion on the grave of Robert William Thomson engineer Dean Cemetery Edinburgh 1873 A number of figures commissioned for the centenary of Sir Walter Scott s birth 1871 added to the Scott Monument in 1874 Bust of John Boyd Baxter Procurator Fiscal and benefactor of the University of Dundee Dundee Sheriff Court 1874 Moquette for statue of David Livingstone to stand in George Square Glasgow for a competition This model is now within the David Livingstone Museum at High Blantyre 1875 Bust of Dr Thomas Guthrie for Inverary Manse Argyll 1875 The carving of the Moffat Ram on the William Colvin Drinking Fountain Moffat 1875 Monument to Dr Thomas Guthrie St John s Church Princes St Edinburgh 1875 Figures of The Nobility and a bronze relief scene from the Great Exhibition on the Prince Albert Memorial in Charlotte Square Edinburgh 1876 main figure by Sir John Steell commissioned in 1865 unveiled in 1876 Bust of Sir James Young Simpson Edinburgh 1877 Bust of Dr Crawford University of Edinburgh 1877 Statue of Sir David Brewster Edinburgh 1877 Statue of Sir James Young Simpson on Princes Street Edinburgh 1877 Bust of Robert Bryson Master of the Merchant Hall in Edinburgh 1875 to 1877 Bust of Thomas Carlyle Scottish National Portrait Gallery 1879 Bust of Henry Irving exhibited at Royal Academy 1879 Bronze head of Samuel Bough on his gravestone in Dean Cemetery 1879 Bust of Sir James Young Simpson Westminster Abbey 1879 Young declined burial in Westminster Abbey choosing to be buried closer to home in Warriston Cemetery Edinburgh now derelict Bust of David Livingstone privately owned by Livingstone Bruce family 1879 Bust of Ellen Terry exhibited in Royal Academy 1880 Bust of William Nelson Scottish National Portrait Gallery 1880 Statue of George Brown in Toronto Canada 1880 Large monument to John Hill Burton and his family Dean Cemetery 1881 commissioned by Burton during his lifetime The figure of Amy Robsart who appears in Scott s Kenilworth as part of the final phase of statuary on the Scott Monument in 1882 Statuary group The Genius of Architecture crowning the Theory and Practice of Art now in Princes Street Gardens but originally in Sir James Gowans house on Napier Road in Merchiston Edinburgh Rockville now demolished Date unknown Probably built with the house possibly as a wedding present to Gowans as his son in law see above Bust of James Nelson Glasgow Art Gallery date unknown Bust of Professor John Stuart Blackie Scottish National Portrait Gallery date unknown Bust of Robert Herdman Scottish National Portrait Gallery date unknown Statue of Corinna the Lyric Muse date unknown Robert Bryson 1878 Hercules a bronze statue in Portmeirion The Genius Of Architecture Rewarding At Once The Science And The Practice Of The Art in Edinburgh The John Spier memorial now at Beith Auld Kirk John Graham Gilbert Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Buchanan Memorial Dean Cemetery Brodie s largest work John Hill Burton on his wife s grave in Dean Cemetery 1881 Corinna a 1859 photoReferences Edit a b This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Brodie William 1815 1881 Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co 1885 1900 Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1847 48 Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1880 81 Wikisource Boyd Thomas Jamieson DNB12 Further reading EditRupert Gunnis Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660 1851 GreyfriarsExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Brodie sculptor Short biography at glasgowsculpture com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Brodie sculptor amp oldid 1119520777, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
