Edward Bainbridge CopnallMBE (29 August 1903 – 18 October 1973) was a British sculptor and painter. Best known for his architectural and decorative sculptures featuring allegorical and religious subjects.[1] He was the President of the
Royal Society of Sculptors from 1961 to 1966.
Early life and career
Copnall was born in
Cape Town, South Africa in 1903 and moved to
Horsham, West Sussex in England as a young child after the death of his mother. His father, photographer Edward White Copnall (born 1878, Isle of Wight), lived and worked in Horsham from 1915 to 1962.[2] His uncle was
Liverpool-based portrait painter Frank Thomas Copnall (1870–1948).[3] The Copnall family have a long association with Horsham, the street Copnall Way is named after them.[4]
During the
Second World War, he worked as a camouflage officer in the Middle East, building dummies as part of the
military deception for
Operation Crusader.[5] Copnall lived in
Burma from 1955 to 1956, and completed 50–60 paintings,[6] mainly portraits, during that time. He was also commissioned to do a memorial of General
Aung San, the first Prime Minister of Free Burma. The statue was unveiled in Burma in 1955.[4]
He was president of the Royal Society of Sculptors from 1961 to 1966. Bainbridge Copnall wrote A Sculptor's Manual, published in 1971, and Cycles: An Autobiography – The Life and Work of a Sculptor, published in 2001. His son was artist
John Copnall.
The Stag, 1962,
Maidstone, Kent. His largest work, originally located in Stag Place, London but moved to Maidstone in 2004.[12] It was cast in aluminium by
H.H. Martyn & Co.[13]
Crucifixion of Jesus, 1964, St John's Church, Horsham. Made from coal dust and resin, it was removed from the facade of the church in December 2008 to
Horsham Museum and Art Gallery. Rev Ewen Souter, the vicar at St John's Church called said it was "a horrifying depiction of pain and suffering" that 'scared children and deterred worshippers'.[14][15]