Edgar Bertram Mackennal

Sir Bertram Mackennal
Sir Bertram Mackennal
Born	Edgar Bertram Mackennal 12 June 1863 - Melbourne, Australia
Died	10 October 1931(1931-10-10) (aged 68) - Watcombe Hall, near Torquay, UK
Nationality	, Australian
Education	Melbourne National Gallery
Known for	Sculptor
Awards	Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1921

Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal KCVO RA (12 June 1863 – 10 October 1931), usually known as Bertram Mackennal, was an Australian sculptor, most famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of George V. He signed his work "BM".

Bertram Mackennal was born in Fitzroy, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, the second son of parents who were both of Scottish descent. His mother was Annabella, née Hyde, and his father was John Simpson Mackennal, a sculptor. John Mackennal provided Bertram his early training which was followed by studies at the school of design at the Melbourne National Gallery which he attended from 1878 to 1882. Marshall Wood, a visiting English sculptor, advised him to go Europe and promised employment. Mackennal left for London in 1882 to study at the National Gallery Schools, discovered Wood had died and shared a studio with Charles Douglas Richardson and Tom Roberts. In 1884 he visited Paris for further study and married a fellow student, Agnes Spooner.

On returning to England, Mackennal was appointed head of modelling and design at the Coalport Potteries, Shropshire early in 1886. In the same year he won a competition for the sculptured reliefs on the front of Parliament House, Melbourne, and returned to Australia in 1887 to execute these.

While in Australia, Mackennal obtained other commissions, including the figure over the doorway of Mercantile Chambers, Collins Street, Melbourne. Mackennal also met the visiting Sarah Bernhardt who strongly advised him to leave Australia and return to Paris. Mackennal borrowed money from Frank Stuart and arrived in Paris in 1891. La Tete d'une Saint (Head of a Saint) 1892 was produced soon after his arrival in Paris. Head of a Saint features a contemporary modern woman, with elaborate lilies. The marble version of Head of a Saint was included in the Paris Salon of 1892, with a single bronze version known to also exist. In 1892, the Argus reported that the 'relief in marble, for its size, is the best thing of its kind in the Salon.' In 1893 he had his first success when his full-length figure "Circe", now at the National Gallery of Victoria, obtained a "mention" at the Old Salon and created a good deal of interest. It was exhibited later at the Royal Academy of Arts where it also aroused great interest, partly because of the prudery of the hanging committee which insisted that the base should be covered. He was the first Australian to exhibit at the Royal Academy. Commissions began flowing in, among them being the figures "Oceana" and "Grief" for the Union Club, Sydney. Two Melbourne commissions brought him to Australia again in 1901: the memorial to Sir William Clarke, 1st Baronet at the Treasury Gardens, Melbourne, and the sculptures for the Springthorpe Memorial in Kew.