will spare even a fleeting glance
in the direction of the masterly memorial to William Ewart Gladstone, noted
19th century British statesman and Prime Minister, which stands in Coates
Crescent Gardens, just beyond the West End of Princes Street? Presumably,
very few! A great pity. If they were to look closely at the rear they might
just spot the fading incription PITTENDRIGH MACGILLIVRAY which indicates
that the sculptor was one of their kinsmen.
James Pittendrigh Macgillivray, or
Pittendrigh, as he preferred to be called, came from the north east of
Scotland. He was born in 1856 just outside the royal burgh of Inverurie in
Aberdeenshire, the son of a local sculptor named William Macgillivray.
Shortly after his death in 1938 his friend C R Cammell wrote in an essay
"The genius of Pittendrigh Macgillivray, daring yet disciplined, was of the
highest order. He stood indubitably in the front rank of British sculptors
of all time. His personality was commanding. Poet, orator, essayist and
philosopher; a painter and a musician, he could have excelled at anything
and everything. The orations and more than one of the Scots lyrics and
English sonnets will assuredly survive along with the sculpture of this man
who was for over half a century a power in the Northern kingdom." Such was
the esteem in which this clansman came to be held.
Yet Pittendrigh had no training in
schools of art whose system of education he always condemned. Instead he
learnt by observation and practice while his genius and talent expanded
freely. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a sculptor in Edinburgh
and later, in Glasgow, to James Steel. In Glasgow, Pittendrigh carried out
most of the classical decorations for the theatre later known as the
Metropole. Elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1892 he
soon came into prominence with his first colossus, the statue of Burns at
Irvine in Ayrshire. Before the turn of the century he moved to Edinburgh
where the studio he designed and built at Ravelston became a place of
pilgrimage for those dedicated to art, culture and learning. He visited the
continent where Vanderstappen and Dillen were his friends and where his
ability was recognised and acknowledged.
At home he was elected to the Royal
Scottish Academy in 1901, was conferred with the degree of LL.D in 1909 and,
in 1921, he was appointed King’s Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland, an
office which had been in abeyance for some years. During his life he
produced many fine works including the statues of the Marquis of Bute at
Cardiff, Lord Byron at Aberdeen, the bronze of John Knox at St. Giles in
Edinburgh and Tanew, Mother of St Kentigern. His talents continue to be
recognised and exhibitions of his works have been held in recent years in
art galleries in Scotland, notably in Aberdeen where he is revered as a
local figure.
His masterpiece and first large scale
achievement was the Gladstone Memorial. Its siting did however cause much
controversy at the time. Originally designed for its present location, the
owners of the gardens objected and, after being stored for some years, it
was eventually unveiled in St Andrew Square where it was a striking feature.
Eventually the needs of modern traffic necessitated its removal and this
time it was accepted where it had been originally envisaged. And there it
stands as testimony to his genius.
Pittendrigh was intensely Scottish and
spoke in the vernacular of the Lowland Scot. He was deeply interested in all
things pertaining to his native land and he had an unrivalled knowledge of
tartans of which he made a special study and accumulated a remarkable
collection. He wrote much poetry and left a number of published works, some
of the publications themselves being masterpieces of typography and now
collectors’ pieces. He wrote songs, played on a violin made by his own
hands, conversed freely and loved intellectual conversation. An idealist, he
believed very firmly in a national revival. Undoubtedly, he was a genius
