David Watson Stevenson

David Watson Stephenson (1842–1904) was a Scottish sculptor, executing portraits and monuments in marble and bronze.

Stevenson was born in Ratho, Midlothian, Scotland, the son of a builder. He studied at the Trustees' Academy, Edinburgh. From 1860 he took an eight-year apprenticeship under the sculptor William Brodie.

He won the South Kensington National Prize for student sculpture with a statuette of the Venus de Milo and completed his studies in Rome, Italy.

He worked as assistant to Sir John Steell on the Prince Albert Monument forming the centrepiece of Charlotte Square in Edinburgh. Here he added figures of "Science & Learning" and "Labour" on the corners. He became known for his portrait sculptures executed in marble and bronze. His best known and most iconic work is the 1869 bronze figure of William Wallace on the Wallace Monument near Stirling.

He became a member of the Royal Scottish Academy. He lived in a townhouse at 2 Castle Terrace facing onto St Cuthbert's Churchyard at the west end of Princes Street.

He is buried with his younger brother, William Grant Stevenson, also a sculptor, in the south-west section of Grange Cemetery in Edinburgh. The monument is sculpted by Henry Snell Gamley.

Stevenson's most loved and publicly seen statue is the figure of William Wallace on the Wallace Monument in Stirling. This fine statue should not be confused with the far cruder, modern statue near the visitor centre, but stands on the side of the monument itself.

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