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Francis Derwent Wood

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Francis Derwent Wood
A 1906 portrait of Wood by George Washington Lambert
Born(1871-10-15)15 October 1871
Keswick, Cumbria, England
Died19 February 1926(1926-02-19) (aged 54)
London, England
OccupationSculptor
SpouseFlorence Mary Schmidt (m. 1903)

Francis Derwent Wood RA (15 October 1871– 19 February 1926) was a British sculptor.[1]

Biography

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Early life

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Wood was born at Keswick in Cumbria and studied in Germany and returned to London in 1887 to work under Édouard Lantéri and Sir Thomas Brock; he taught at the Glasgow School of Art from 1897 through to 1905. He produced a good deal of architectural sculpture typical of the time, including four large roof figures for the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, the British Linen Bank also in Glasgow, and the Britannic House in London for architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. Freestanding sculptures by him may also be seen in various locations, such as his 1909 Atalanta (Manchester Art Gallery),[2] with a bronze cast of it now in Chelsea Embankment Gardens),[3]

World War One

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Chalk drawing by William Rothenstein, inscribed 'To F Derwent Wood – Homage from W Rothenstein, 1921'[4]

As the onset of the First World War, Wood was too old (at 41), for active duty and enlisted as a private in the Royal Army Medical Corps, in which he served as an orderly with his photographer friend Ward Muir. He worked as an orderly in hospital wards, and his exposure to the gruesome injuries inflicted by the new war's weapons eventually led him to open a special clinic: the Masks for Facial Disfigurement Department, located in the Third London General Hospital, Wandsworth. Instead of the rubber masks used conventionally, Wood constructed masks of thin metal, sculpted to match the portraits of the men in their pre-war normality. Just as had been happening with soldiers operated upon with the recent advances in plastic surgery, Wood's masks provided each with a renewed self-confidence, even self-respect, though they often proved uncomfortable. Face wounds were known to be the most devastating. By hiding the wounds behind the mask, the young men were able to return to relationships with their families and friends.[5]

Each mask required many weeks of work on the part of Woods, and other surgeons who followed his lead. A plaster cast was taken of the subject's wounded face – but only after the wounds and subsequent surgeries had totally healed. The crude process was itself a trial. The plaster cast was used to make a squeeze of plastocene or clay. This disfigured bust was used as the foundation of all prosthetic restorative work, with the sculptor working to replace the missing components of the face with the shapes from the opposing side. The mask itself was made from a thin copper sheet – galvanized copper to facilitate painting after forming. Painting a realistic portrait onto the copper mask was as challenging as the sculpting: each was finished while the patient wore it, in order to most accurately match the tone of the flesh with the enamels.[5]

The ward stayed open only two years, from 1917 to 1919. There is no record of the exact number of masks made, but it must have been several hundred: a tiny drop among the more than 20,000 wounded in the face. His earnest efforts may not have helped statistically, but they influenced the lives of those he helped dramatically.[5]

Post-war

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Wood was professor of sculpture at the Royal College of Art from 1918 through to 1923, with William Rothenstein as Principal.[4]

He produced a representation of The Crucified Soldier called Canada's Golgotha in 1919, which caused a diplomatic flap between the Canadian and German governments. His Machine Gun Corps Memorial at Hyde Park Corner was also controversial.

He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1920.

Personal life

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Wood married Florence Mary Schmidt (1873–1969) in early 1903.[6] Wood died in London in 1926 at the age of fifty-five. His grave can be found at St Michael's Church, Amberley, West Sussex, with that of his wife.

Selected public works

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Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates 		Date Type Material Dimensions Designation Wikidata Notes
Music, Architecture, Painting and Sculpture Facade of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasow 1898 Four architectural sculptures Stone [7]

More images 		Sir Titus Salt Roberts Park, Saltaire, West Yorkshire 1903 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone Grade II Q26426353 [8][9]
Charles Henry Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire c. 1907 Statue on pedestal Portland stone Grade II Q26584663 [8][10]

More images 		Psyche Victoria and Albert Museum 1908-19 Statue Bronze 175cm high The Lady Lever Art Gallery also has a casting of the work.[11][12]

More images 		General James Wolfe The Green, Westerham, Kent 1911 Statue on pedestal Bronze and Portland stone Grade II* Q17545629 [8][13][14]
George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon Spa Gardens, Ripon, Yorkshire 1912 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone Grade II Q26601856 [8][15]

More images 		Ambrose McEvoy National Portrait Gallery, London 1915 Bust Bronze 440 x 260mm [16]
George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon Gardens of Victoria Memorial, Kolkata 1915 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone [17]
George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon Ripon Building, Chennai 1915 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone [17]
Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Outside Municipal Corporation Building, Mumbai c. 1916 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone [17]
Canada's Golgotha Canadian War Museum, Ottawa 1918 Relief sculpture Bronze 0.8m tall
Australia Gate Approach to Buckingham Palace, London 1920 Two statues on pillars Stone [18]

More images 		Indian Water Carrier, Woman with baby, Britannia & Persian Scarf Dancer Britannic House, Finsbury Circus, London 1920 Architectural sculptures Stone Architect, Sir.E.L. Lutyens[19]
War memorial St Mary's, Ditchingham, Norfolk 1920 Effigy & panels Bronze & black marble Grade I Q17537511 [20][21]
Humanity overcoming War Cartwright Hall, Bradford 1921 Sculpture group Marble [22][23]
Sir Henry Royce Riverside Gardens, Derby 1921 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone Grade II Restored & relocated 1990[8][24]

More images 		Liverpool Cotton Association war memorial Exchange Flags, Walker House, Liverpool 1922 Statue Bronze Grade II Q66478442 Unveiled 1922, relocated 2011[25][26]

More images 		War memorial Keswick, Cumbria 1922 Cenotaph with plaques Stone & bronze Grade II Q66477925 [27][28]

More images 		Machine Gun Corps Memorial Hyde Park Corner, London 1925 Statue on pedestal with surround Bronze, marble & Portland stone Grade II* Q6723658 [29][30][31]
Memorial to Major General Sir John Eardley Wilmot Inglis The Nelson Chamber, Crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, London Medallion & relief tablet Bronze & marble [32]
Atalanta, Memorial to Derwent Wood Chelsea Embankment, London 1929 Statue Bronze Grade II After the marble original of 1909 held by Manchester Art Gallery[33]


Other works

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  • The Penitent Thief, 1918, bronze head of one of the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus Christ, held at Lady Lever Art Gallery, PortSunlight[34]
  • Derwent Wood modelled, 1897–1900, the figures of the Ship's Prow and Zephyrs which adorned the British Linen Company Bank building in Govan Road, Glasgow.[35]
  • Statue of Queen Victoria, bronze, 1903, now in the museum at Sheesh Mahal in Patiala[17]
  • 1912 bronze statue of Edward VII in the uniform of a royal field marshal, now in the museum at Sheesh Mahal in Patiala[17]
  • Statue, in bronze, of Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, c. 1920, originally erected in Kolkata, then moved to the Kitchener Military College and when that closed erected in the courtyard of the Dhubela Museum in Madhya Pradesh[17]
  • Derwent Wood's Maggie.
    Derwent Wood's Maggie.
  • Derwent Wood's Lord Henn-Collins
    Derwent Wood's Lord Henn-Collins
  • Derwent Wood's female nude
    Derwent Wood's female nude
  • Derwent Wood's Abondance
    Derwent Wood's Abondance
  • Derwent Wood's Female nude
    Derwent Wood's Female nude
  • Derwent Wood's bust of Edward VII
    Derwent Wood's bust of Edward VII
  • Derwent Wood's La Baigneuse
    Derwent Wood's La Baigneuse
  • Derwent Wood's Faune et outre
    Derwent Wood's Faune et outre

See also

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  • Anna Coleman Ladd, another sculptor making masks for soldiers disfigured in World War I

References

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  1. ^ Francis Derwent Wood RA (1871 - 1926)
  2. ^ "Search the Collection". Manchester Galleries.
  3. ^ "UK Government Web Archive".
  4. ^ a b "The List". Abbott and Holder. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Alexander, Caroline (2007). "Faces of War". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD (Paddington registration district). ONS. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  7. ^ Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Glasgow Sculpture. Retrieved 23 November 2012
  8. ^ a b c d e Jo Darke (1991). The Monument Guide to England and Wales. Macdonald Illustrated. ISBN 0-356-17609-6.
  9. ^ Historic England. "Statue of Sir Titus Salt set in centre of main terrace of Park (1133413)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  10. ^ Historic England. "Statue of Charles Henry Wilson, Lord Nunburnholme (1297048)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Psyche". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  12. ^ "Psyche, Francis Derwent Wood". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  13. ^ Historic England. "Statue of General Wolfe (1244025)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  14. ^ "War Memorials Register: Statue of General James Wolfe". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  15. ^ Historic England. "Statue of the First Marquess of Ripon (1315486)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Ambrose McEvoy". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Mary Ann Steggles & Richard Barnes (2011). British Sculpture in India: New Views & Old Memories. Frontier Publishing. ISBN 9781872914411.
  18. ^ "Australia". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  19. ^ "Indian Water Carrier". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  20. ^ "St Mary, Ditchingham". Churches of Norfolk. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  21. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Mary (1050612)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  22. ^ "The Sculpture Court". Braadford Museums & Galleries. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Peace overcoming War - Unidentified photographer". Royal Academy. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  24. ^ Historic England. "Statue of Sir FH Royce (1228935)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  25. ^ "War Memorials Register: Liverpool Cotton Association". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  26. ^ Historic England. "The Liverpool Cotton Association War Memorial (1442272)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  27. ^ "War Memorials Register: Keswick (Including Roedean School WW2 Evacuees and the Verdun Oak Tree)". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  28. ^ Historic England. "Keswick War Memorial (1438053)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  29. ^ "Wood, Francis Derwent (1871-1926)". The National Archives. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  30. ^ "War Memorials Register: Mahine Gun Corps - Figure of David". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  31. ^ Historic England. "Machine Gun Corps Memorial] (1226874)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  32. ^ "War Memorials Register: Maj Gen Sir J E W Inglis". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  33. ^ Historic England. "Francis Derwent Wood Memorial, Embankment Gardens] (1189638)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  34. ^ "The Penitent Thief". Liverpool Museums/Lady Lever Art Gallery. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  35. ^ "British Linen Company Bank sculptures". Glasgow Sculpture. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
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