Michael Sandle
Encyclopedia
Michael Sandle RA (born 18 May 1936) is a British sculptor and artist, "widely recognised as one of the finest sculptors in the world". His works include several public sculptures, many relating to themes of war, death or destruction. His work has been critical of what he describes as the "heroic decadence" of capitalism and its involvement in global conflict.
, and he was christened on HMS Ark Royal
. His family's home in Plymouth
was bombed in the Second World War, and he grew up on the Isle of Man
, where his father had been stationed in 1942. From 1951 to 1954 he studied at Douglas School of Art and Technology on the Isle of Man, and was then conscripted for two years' National Service
in the Royal Artillery
.
He has been married twice (though is now divorced), and has three children.
from 1956 to 1959, where he was taught etching by Anthony Gross and etching by Lynton Lamb
and Ceri Richards
. He was also taught by Andrew Forge
, Lucian Freud
and Claude Rogers.
After travelling to Italy and Paris Sandle taught at various British art schools in the 1960s. Originally a painter and draftsman, in the 1960s he gravitated towards sculpture.
From 1970 to 1973 Sandle lived in Canada, where he was a visiting associate professor at the University of Calgary
until 1971 and at the University of British Columbia
from 1971 to 1972.
In 1973 he moved to Germany, and taught in Pforzheim
and Berlin
. He became professor of sculpture at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Karlsruhe
in 1980.
From 1976 to 1982 Sandle was a member of the faculty of engraving at the British School in Rome. In 1982 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy
, and in 1989 a full Academician.
After moving to Devon he returned to London in 1999.
, "A Twentieth Century Memorial" (1971-8) (originally entitled "A Mickey-Mouse Machine-Gun Monument for Amerika") and one of the five casts of his work "Der Trommler" (The Drummer) (1985, cast 1987).
His public works include: a memorial (1985) to the victims of the crash of a U.S. Army CH-47 in Mannheim
during the city's Aeronautical Days on 11 September 1982; a large bronze statue of St George and the Dragon (1987–8) for a public square in Dorset Rise, London; the International Seafarer's Memorial (2001), outside the headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation on the Albert Embankment
in London; decorative plaques for a new building, La Colomberie in Saint Helier
, under the Percent for Art
scheme; and the Malta Siege Memorial (1989–93), at the entrance to the Grand Harbour in Valetta, for which he was awarded the Henry Hering Memorial Medal by the US National Sculpture Society
. The Malta Siege Memorial includes a thirteen-tonne bronze bell, "Santa Maria", one of the largest ever forged, which rings for two minutes every midday.
He also worked on an unrealised project for the Battle of Britain Monument with Theo Crosby
and Pedro Guedes in 1987. The plans for the 500 ft monument near Surrey Docks include a hollow pyramid containing laser-generated holograms and sounds recalling the Blitz
, topped by sculptures of a Heinkel
bomber and a Spitfire.
He has exhibited at the 5th Paris Biennale, the Sao Paulo Biennial, and the 4th and 6th Documenta
in Kassel
. Examples of his works are held by the Tate Gallery
in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York, the Australian National Gallery in Canberra, the Hakone Museum in Japan, and the British Museum
. A major retrospective of his work was held at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1988 and then at the Wurttembergischer Kunstverein in Stuttgart in 1989.
He designed the Belgrano Medal in 1986, which shows Margaret Thatcher
, with the inscription "Imperatrix Impudens" ("Shameless Empress").
He has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Abbey Travel Award; a French State Scholarship; the Rodin Grand Prize, Japan's most prestigious contemporary art award, in 1986, Nobutaka Shikanai Prize, Japan; Major Prize 7th International Sculpture Exhibition, Hungary; and a DAAD Research Grant. He is a selector for The Threadneedle Prize for painting and sculpture in 2010.
He was elected as a member of the Royal Academy
in 1989, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1994. He resigned from the Royal Academy in 1997 in protest at the Sensation exhibition and the inclusion of Marcus Harvey
's painting Myra
, but rejoined in 2005.
He won the Hugh Casson Drawing Prize for his Iraq Triptych, a drawing showing Tony
and Cherie Blair
naked, exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
in 2007.
Early and private life
Michael Sandle was born in Weymouth, Dorset. His father was serving in the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and he was christened on HMS Ark Royal
HMS Ark Royal (91)
HMS Ark Royal was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War.Designed in 1934 to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark Royal was built by Cammell Laird and Company, Ltd. at Birkenhead, England, and completed in November 1938. Her design...
. His family's home in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
was bombed in the Second World War, and he grew up on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, where his father had been stationed in 1942. From 1951 to 1954 he studied at Douglas School of Art and Technology on the Isle of Man, and was then conscripted for two years' National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
.
He has been married twice (though is now divorced), and has three children.
Art career
After attending evening classes at Chester College of Art, he studied printmaking in London at the Slade School of Fine ArtSlade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
from 1956 to 1959, where he was taught etching by Anthony Gross and etching by Lynton Lamb
Lynton Lamb
Lynton Lamb RDI, FSRA, FSIA was an English artist-designer, Author, lithographer and illustrator who was notable for his book jacket, poster, architectural decoration and postage stamp designs....
and Ceri Richards
Ceri Richards
-Biography:Richards was born in the village of Dunvant, near Swansea, the son of Thomas Coslett Richards and Sarah Richards . He and his younger brother and sister, Owen and Esther, were brought up in a highly cultured, working-class environment...
. He was also taught by Andrew Forge
Andrew Forge
Andrew Murray Forge was a British painter, academic, and art critic....
, Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH was a British painter. Known chiefly for his thickly impasted portrait and figure paintings, he was widely considered the pre-eminent British artist of his time...
and Claude Rogers.
After travelling to Italy and Paris Sandle taught at various British art schools in the 1960s. Originally a painter and draftsman, in the 1960s he gravitated towards sculpture.
From 1970 to 1973 Sandle lived in Canada, where he was a visiting associate professor at the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
until 1971 and at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
from 1971 to 1972.
In 1973 he moved to Germany, and taught in Pforzheim
Pforzheim
Pforzheim is a town of nearly 119,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany at the gate to the Black Forest. It is world-famous for its jewelry and watch-making industry. Until 1565 it was the home to the Margraves of Baden. Because of that it gained the nickname...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He became professor of sculpture at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
in 1980.
From 1976 to 1982 Sandle was a member of the faculty of engraving at the British School in Rome. In 1982 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, and in 1989 a full Academician.
After moving to Devon he returned to London in 1999.
Works
Two of his smaller sculptural works – described as "anti-memorial" - are held by the Tate GalleryTate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
, "A Twentieth Century Memorial" (1971-8) (originally entitled "A Mickey-Mouse Machine-Gun Monument for Amerika") and one of the five casts of his work "Der Trommler" (The Drummer) (1985, cast 1987).
His public works include: a memorial (1985) to the victims of the crash of a U.S. Army CH-47 in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
during the city's Aeronautical Days on 11 September 1982; a large bronze statue of St George and the Dragon (1987–8) for a public square in Dorset Rise, London; the International Seafarer's Memorial (2001), outside the headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation on the Albert Embankment
Albert Embankment
The Albert Embankment is a stretch of the river bank on the south side of the River Thames in Central London. It stretches approximately one mile northward from Vauxhall Bridge to Westminster Bridge, and is located in the London Borough of Lambeth.Albert Embankment is also the name given to the...
in London; decorative plaques for a new building, La Colomberie in Saint Helier
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...
, under the Percent for Art
Percent for Art
The term "percent for art" refers to a program, often a city ordinance, where a fee, usually some percentage of the project cost, is placed on large scale development projects in order to fund and install public art. The details of such programs vary from area-to-area...
scheme; and the Malta Siege Memorial (1989–93), at the entrance to the Grand Harbour in Valetta, for which he was awarded the Henry Hering Memorial Medal by the US National Sculpture Society
National Sculpture Society
Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members included several renowned architects. The founding...
. The Malta Siege Memorial includes a thirteen-tonne bronze bell, "Santa Maria", one of the largest ever forged, which rings for two minutes every midday.
He also worked on an unrealised project for the Battle of Britain Monument with Theo Crosby
Theo Crosby
Theo Crosby was an architect, editor, writer and sculptor, engaged with major developments in design across four decades. He was also an early vocal critic of modern urbanism. He is best remembered as a founding partner of the international design partnership Pentagram, and as architect for the...
and Pedro Guedes in 1987. The plans for the 500 ft monument near Surrey Docks include a hollow pyramid containing laser-generated holograms and sounds recalling the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, topped by sculptures of a Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
bomber and a Spitfire.
He has exhibited at the 5th Paris Biennale, the Sao Paulo Biennial, and the 4th and 6th Documenta
Documenta
documenta is an exhibition of modern and contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. It was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau which took place in Kassel at that time...
in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
. Examples of his works are held by the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York, the Australian National Gallery in Canberra, the Hakone Museum in Japan, and the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. A major retrospective of his work was held at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in 1988 and then at the Wurttembergischer Kunstverein in Stuttgart in 1989.
He designed the Belgrano Medal in 1986, which shows Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, with the inscription "Imperatrix Impudens" ("Shameless Empress").
He has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Abbey Travel Award; a French State Scholarship; the Rodin Grand Prize, Japan's most prestigious contemporary art award, in 1986, Nobutaka Shikanai Prize, Japan; Major Prize 7th International Sculpture Exhibition, Hungary; and a DAAD Research Grant. He is a selector for The Threadneedle Prize for painting and sculpture in 2010.
He was elected as a member of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1989, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1994. He resigned from the Royal Academy in 1997 in protest at the Sensation exhibition and the inclusion of Marcus Harvey
Marcus Harvey
Marcus Harvey is an English artist and painter, one of the Young British Artists .-Exhibitions:Harvey has shown work internationally in many exhibitions including ‘The Führer's Cakes’ at Galleria Marabini in Bologna, ‘Snaps’ at White Cube in London, ‘Sex and the British’ at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac...
's painting Myra
Myra (painting)
Myra is a large painting created by Marcus Harvey in 1995. It became notorious when it was exhibited at the Sensation exhibition of Young British Artists at the Royal Academy of Art in London from 8 September to 28 December 1997.-Painting:...
, but rejoined in 2005.
He won the Hugh Casson Drawing Prize for his Iraq Triptych, a drawing showing Tony
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
naked, exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Royal Academy summer exhibition
The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the summer months of June, July, and August...
in 2007.
Public commissions
- 1981 "Sculpture for a Trades School", Mühlacker, Germany
- 1985 "Memorial to the Victims of a Helicopter Disaster", Mannheim, Germany (commemorating the victims killed when a U.S. Army CH-47 crashed during the city's Aeronautical Days on 11 September 1982)
- 1986 "Belgrano Medal – a Medal of Dishonour", British Art Medallic Society
- 1988-92 Malta Siege Memorial, Grand Harbour, Valletta
- 1987 "Woman for Heidelberg", Kopf Klinik, Heidelberg, Germany
- 1988 "St. George & the Dragon", Blackfriars, London
- 1992 "St Margaret", The Pearl Assurance Head Offices, Peterborough
- 1997 "The Viking", Port Erin Arts Centre, Isle of Man
- 2001 International Maritime Organization Seafarers' Memorial, Albert Embankment, London
- 2002 Memorial to Lifeboatmen, Marine Gardens, Douglas, Isle of Man
Awards
- 1986 Nobutaka Shikanai prize, 1st Rodin Grand Prize Exhibition, Utsukushi-gahara Open Air Museum, Japan
- 1987 Prize-winner in 7th International Small Sculpture Exhibition, Budapest, Hungary
- 1989 Korn/Ferry Award, Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition
- 1995 Henry Hering Memorial Medal (for Malta Siege Memorial) National Sculpture Society of America
- 2004-6 Kenneth Armitage Fellowship
- 2007 Hugh Casson Drawing Prize, Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition