Alexander Carrick

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Alexander Carrick

war memorials executed in the period following World War I. As head of sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art, and as a leading member of the Royal Scottish Academy
, Carrick had a lasting influence on Scottish sculpture.

Early years

Alexander Carrick was born in 1882, the son of a

Pittendrigh MacGillivray
.

In the years running up to

St. Magnus' Cathedral in Kirkwall; and also carrying out extensive work in the unusual Saint Conan's Kirk at Loch Awe
. Whilst at the Edinburgh College of Art, Carrick met his wife, Janet Ferguson MacGregor, who was studying painting there, and the couple were married in 1914. Their first child, Elizabeth, was born in 1915, (followed later by Anne, who herself became an artist).

World War I

In 1916 Carrick joined the Royal Garrison Artillery and served in Belgium throughout the war (The location of sketches which he made at this time have been identified as lying just north of the village of Ypres). On one occasion a shell prematurely exploded in his battery and he was badly shocked. Due to the epidemics sweeping the military hospitals at the time, he was left in the house of an old Belgian woman, who he remembered had simply allowed him to sleep for days at a time. In 1916 he modelled the figure of an artilleryman lifting a shell, 'The Gunner', which was exhibited at that year's RSA Exhibition in Edinburgh and received some acclaim, including an article in 'The Studio' appearing in 1924. In 1918 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy[1] while still in Belgium.

Post World War I

The Killin war memorial. Carrick's soldier bears some resemblance to Michelangelo's David, but while Michelangelo's figure grasps a primitive sling, Carrick's grasps the sling of a rifle.
Oban war memorial. The large rock, a glacial erratic, provides an interesting foil for the monument, indeed the shape is so similar that it may have been the inspiration for Carrick's figurative group

After the war Carrick quickly re-established his yard in Edinburgh and again began exhibiting at the RSA with 'Jock' and 'With Bayonet and Bomb'. During the period from 1920 until around 1926 he was heavily involved in war memorial work. Carrick was a stone carver and preferred working in freestone, especially Doddington stone quarried in the

Berwick Upon Tweed and 'Justice Guiding Valour' for the Fraserburgh war memorial.[2] Despite being heavily engaged in this work, he did execute some other commissions in the early 1920s including carving the stone figures of 'The Leopard', 'The Vulture', and 'The Kangaroo' for the Animal Wall extension at Cardiff Castle
, and the tomb featuring the recumbent figure of Walter Campbell of Lochawe in Saint Conan's Kirk.

Edinburgh Castle

Sir William Wallace, at Edinburgh Castle. Carrick was criticised over the proportions of this figure, but it may be that he was subtly adapting the proportions of the body to the stones of the wall itself, thus integrating Wallace and wall. More recently, it was during a visit to Edinburgh that American screenwriter Randall Wallace saw this statue and was inspired to write the script for the Mel Gibson film Braveheart
.

Scotland made one final act of remembrance in the late 1920s with the erection of the

Sir Robert Lorimer's Gothic
design was chosen for the niches.

1930s onwards

Carrick's group 'Security' on the Caledonian Insurance Building, Edinburgh. The bronze has an unusual green patina and the group was based on Carrick's diploma work 'Felicity'

With the end of the war memorial period and the onset of the economic depression, Carrick undertook many smaller works including continuing renovations and repairs at

Saint Andrew Square
, Edinburgh.

With the outbreak of World War II construction work dried up and conscription claimed most of his students at the college. Carrick was forced into an early retirement and he and his wife Janet settled in their holiday cottage at Midlem in the Scottish Borders. The couple considered creating a studio at the cottage but this never happened. Carrick's work appeared at an RSA Exhibition for the last time in 1954 when the bronze busts of his two grandchildren were displayed. He died in Galashiels in 1966.[3]

Teacher and academician

Carrick was appointed to the teaching staff of Edinburgh College of Art in 1914 and in 1928 was appointed head of the sculpture department.

Wick Academy brought his son, Scott Sutherland, to Edinburgh to discuss his son's ambitions to become a sculptor. Carrick reassured the concerned father and Scott soon began his studies in Edinburgh, which would establish him in a long career, producing many acclaimed works, the most famous being the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge. An unemployed ship's carpenter from Leith named Tom Whalen wandered into one of Carrick's evening classes after spending years whittling away on pieces of scrap wood. Carrick immediately recognised his potential, and Whalen became one of the leading artists of the post war period in Scotland. Hew Lorimer, son of the famous architect Sir Robert Lorimer, was one of Carrick's students and became an established artist, producing many ecclesiastical works including 'Our Lady of the Isles' on South Uist
. Carrick's influence arguably ensured that sculpture retained its status and prestige within the Academy, for example by travelling to Paris in 1938 and persuading the leading French sculptors of the period to travel to Edinburgh for a special exhibition of French sculpture in 1939.

Bibliography and references

Business Papers – Lodged with the National Monument Record of Scotland office, Edinburgh

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Archive ( photocopies of the Carrick collection of press cuttings )

The Studio Vol. LXXXVIII, No.379, October 1924 ( short article on 'The Gunner' )

The Scots Magazine, November 1992 ( article written by this author )

Author's notes taken on two interviews with Anne and Elizabeth Carrick, 1992 (Copies lodges with RSA and SNGMA)

Modelling and Sculpting the Human Figure, Edouard Lanteri, Dover 0-486-25006-7

Virtue and Vision, Sculpture and Scotland 1540–1990, National Galleries of Scotland

Hew Lorimer Sculptor, Talbot Rice Gallery Exhibition Programme, University of Edinburgh, Duncan MacMillan 1988.

Oban Times – 17 November 1923 (unveiling of Oban war memorial) Oban Times – 17 July 1920 (unveiling of Lochawe war memorial) Orkney Herald – 24 August 1921 (unveiling of Saint Margaret's Hope war memorial) The Scotsman – 18 June 1923 (re Oban war memorial) The Scotsman – 14 October 1931 (re Killin war memorial) The Scotsman – 18 June 1922 (re Dornoch war memorial) The Scotsman – 6 January 1928 (re wallace and Bruce, Edinburgh Castle) The Scotsman – 14 February 1929 (Carrick elected A.R.S.A.) The Scotsman – 29 May 1929 (unveiling of Wallace, Edinburgh Castle) The Scotsman – 26 April 1930 (The woman of Samaria at the Well, Reid Memorial Church, Edinburgh) The Scotsman – 3 November 1931 (re 'Geology', Edinburgh University) The Scotsman – 16 September 1932 (re Sir Walter Scott memorial, Jedburgh) The Scotsman – 31 May 1933 (re unveiling of memorial plaque to Sir John Gordon, Bart. of Haddo in St. Gile's Cathedral) The Scotsman – 20 May 1939 ('Security') The Scotsman – 19 June 1939 (Phyllis Bone interview, North Berwick Memorial) The Scots Pictorial – 23 September 1922 (re Killin war memorial) The Builder – 10 November 1922 (article re Newburgh war memorial) The Glasgow Herald – 29 May 1929 (unveiling of Wallace, Edinburgh Castle)

The Northern Scot – 8 June 1922 (unveiling of Dornoch war memorial) Forres, Elgin and Nairn Gazette – 30 August 1922 (unveiling of Forres war memorial) The Northern Scot – 25 December 1920 (re fund raising for Forres war memorial) The Northern Scot – Saturday, September 1922 (unveiling of Forres war memorial) The Berwick Advertiser – 16 November 1923 (unveiling of Berwick on Tweed war memorial)

References

  1. ^ "Alexander Carrick ARSA, RSA, RBS, FRBS". Mapping Sculpture. University of Glasgow. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  2. ^ Fraserburgh Herald and Northern Counties Advertiser 1923/03/13
  3. ^
    ISBN 9781849907262
    .
  4. ^ "Phyllis Mary Bone (1894 – 1972)". Alumni in History. University of Edinburgh. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.

External links

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