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Edited by Frank R. Shaw, FSA Scot, Greater Atlanta, GA, USA
Email: jurascot@earthlink.net
At the suggestion years
ago of several friends, most notably Thomas Keith of New York City, I
began collecting Burnsiana. I started with little items and now have
several boxes…yes, boxes, because when we moved to Lake Lanier north of
Atlanta, there was not as much room as we had and so some are still
boxed. In the meantime, I became interested in collecting Burns
sculptures and found some less than two feet high that I could display
on my desk and credenza. As the years went by, my images of Burns grew
in size when we purchased several busts of Burns, including a bronze
created at a foundry in Texas and a marble crafted in Edinburgh. Last
week I took possession of a bronze head of the Bard by accomplished and
well-known artist and sculptor Deirdre Nicolls of Edinburgh. Deirdre had
displayed the piece several years ago during the annual Burns Conference
at University of Glasgow’s Centre for Robert Burns Studies.
No two paintings of Burns are alike, and I have studied the different
shapes of his head sketched over the years. But a talk at the Burns Club
of Atlanta by Professor Patrick Scott was very revealing to me as he and
Professor Ross Roy gave members of the club a fascinating presentation
on this subject. My conclusion was that no one really captured the looks
of Burns while he was alive. While Deirdre’s sculpture was entirely
different from the usual ones of Burns and from the photos that we see,
her work kept gnawing at me as time passed. Simply put, her explanation
below was what sold me on her model of Burns. Susan and I decided to go
for it and I can’t believe we will ever regret doing so. We are proud to
have this fine interpretation of Burns by Deirdre.
In emails we started referring to him as Mr. Burns, and it was so
gratifying to receive one of the last from her saying, “Mr. Burns is on
his way” to his American home. A few days later I could reply that “Mr.
Burns is safely at home in America.” Well, Mr. Burns is still sitting
where he was unpacked and will remain there until we decide where he
will be most comfortable. I do not think you are supposed to say men are
beautiful, but I can truthfully say without hesitation that this Mr.
Burns is!
It is a pleasure to welcome Deirdre Nicholls to our pages this week. I
decided to use her email explaining how her interpretation of Mr. Burns
came about. She recently finished a sculpture of Nelson Mandela that
sits in what we here in the States would call Glasgow’s City Hall. I
plan to share with you how the other Burns busts ended up at our lake
house Waverley over the weeks to come.
(FRS: 4.29.15)
WELCOME HOME, MR. BURNS
By Deirdre Nicholls
Sculptor at Studio Summerhall
Dear Frank,
The idea for the work came from Professor David Purdie, of the Edinburgh
Burns Club. He asked me to produce a model so he could have a plaster
cast, at a time when he was co-editing the latest edition of the Burns
Encyclopaedia, which was published in 2013. The plaster cast of Burns
sits in Prof Purdie’s study, inspiring him…
This was a daunting task,
because of Burns’s iconic global status; however, I decided to treat it
as I treat all my subjects. I start from first principles; first of all
establishing how big Burns’ skull might have been. We knew he was above
average height, and so I could make a reasonable estimate of the size of
his skull. As the piece was designed for a domestic interior, I decided
to make him life size. If I am asked to create a piece for a public
area, I make it a little larger (My Nelson Mandela is 10% over life
size).
Once the rough size and shape of the head is worked out in the clay, I
start with a profile. I use terracotta for modelling because I like its
warm look for the human face. For reference, I used only the images
which were made during Burns’ lifetime. Luckily there are two excellent
profiles, which are so similar, that I believed I could take them as
being accurate. I used the Alexander Reid miniature, which is currently
on display at the Burns Museum in Alloway, alongside my own Artist’s
Proof bronze. This is a beautiful little painting. I also referred to
the silhouette by John Miers in 1787. I gave Burns long hair tied back
with a ribbon, because this can be seen in the Miers silhouette, and is
also referred to by Dr Robert Anderson, who met Burns in Edinburgh and
wrote about his appearance to Dr James Currie. This letter was published
in the Burns Chronicle of 1925.
After working on the profile, I then moved to the 3/4 view, and for
this, Nasmyth’s portrait was the reference point. Nasmyth’s work is
supported by an engraving by John Buego from 1787. Buego knew Burns, and
although his drawing was clearly based on Nasmyth’s, the fact that it is
so similar, and that the two men were friends, gave me confidence that
this too would be a good reference point.
My own experience and knowledge of anatomy was drawn upon to fill the
gaps in available material. I was confident that the combination of
skull size, good profile source material and equally good 3/4 view, plus
the information that he wore his hair tied back would help me get the
facts of his appearance to a fair degree of accuracy. As for creating
the expression, that is a piece of magic that comes only at the end,
after a long struggle! What I do is to try to balance the impression
given between the mouth and the eyes. Towards the end, I work in
changing lights, and try to make the piece look different in different
lights and from different angles, so that the more one lives with it,
the more you can see.
I hope this is helpful.
Very best wishes
Deirdre
Deirdre Nicholls
Sculptor
Studio 606
SUMMERHALL
Edinburgh
EH9 1PL
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