A BRONZE FIGURE OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON BY THOMAS J. CLAPPERTON (SCOTTISH 1879 - 1962)
DATED 1909
Auction: Day 1: Wednesday 20 August - Lots 1 - 296
Description
dark brown patina, raised on a stepped green marble plinth base, signed to the base ‘Thos. J. Clapperton, 1909’
Dimensions
figure 59cm high, 66cm high including plinth
Footnote
Note: Regarded as ‘The Border Sculptor’, Thomas Clapperton studied at the Mechanics Institute in Galashiels before completing his training at the Glasgow School of Art and at Kensington School of Art, as well as the Royal Academy School in London. He became an apprentice to Sir William Goscombe John, one of the most eminent sculptors of the period. After further study in Paris and Rome, Clapperton eventually settled in London and set up a sculptor's studio in Chelsea. His most renowned work is the sculpture of Robert the Bruce at Edinburgh Castle, and other well-regarded works include the frieze at Liberty & Co. in London; ‘The Border Reiver’ at the Galashiels War Memorial, the bust of Sir Walter Scott in Bank Street, Galashiels, and the Flodden Memorial and bronzes surrounding the Mungo Park Memorial in Selkirk. Clapperton is also known for the much-loved Wonderland statue in Oamaru’s Botanical Gardens (New Zealand), the reduction of which was sold in these rooms (Decorative Arts, 01 April 2020, lot 231).
A cast of this model was also recently sold in these rooms (Scottish Works of Art & Whisky, 16 August 2023, lot 33) and another is also held in the collection of the Museum & Gallery Service Headquarters of the Scottish Borders Council, Selkirk