Harry Bates | |
---|---|
Born |
Stevenage |
26 April 1850
Died | 30 January 1899 London |
(aged 48)
Nationality | British |
Known for | Sculpture |
Awards | Royal Academy |
Harry Bates ARA (26 April 1850 – 30 January 1899) was an English sculptor. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1892 as A.R.A. and was an active, if intermittent, member of the Art Workers Guild. He was a central figure in the British movement known as the New Sculpture.
Bates was born on 26 April 1850 in Stevenage in Hertfordshire. He began his career as a carver's assistant, and before beginning the regular study of plastic art he passed through a long apprenticeship in architectural decoration working from 1869 for the firm of Farmer & Brindley.
In 1879 he went to London and entered the South London School of Technical Art (formerly known as Lambeth School of Art, now the City and Guilds of London Art School). There he studied under Jules Dalou and won a silver medal in the national competition at South Kensington. In 1881, he was admitted to the Royal Academy schools, where in 1883 he won the gold medal and the travelling scholarship with his relief of Socrates teaching the People in the Agora, which showed grace of line and harmony of composition. He immediately went to Paris, where he took up an independent studio (on Dalou's suggestion) (1883-1885). He was influenced by Rodin, who advised him on occasion about his work. A head and three small bronze panels (the Aeneid), executed by Bates in Paris, were exhibited at the Royal Academy, and selected for purchase by the Chantrey Bequest trustees; but the selection had to be cancelled because they had not been modelled in Britain.