Alfred Horace Gerrard facts for kids

Alfred Horace "Gerry" Gerrard (7 May 1899 – 13 June 1998) was a British modern sculptor. He was a very important teacher at the Slade School of Fine Art. He led the sculpture department from 1925 and became a professor there in 1949. He taught many famous sculptors until 1968.

Alfred Gerrard's Early Life

Gerrard was born on May 7, 1899, in Hartford, Cheshire, England. His family had been farmers in that area for 400 years. He was the youngest of five children. He was also a direct descendant of John Gerard, a famous plant expert from the 1500s. Gerrard went to Northwich Technical School and left in 1916.

During World War I, he joined the army. He served with different groups like the Cameron Highlanders. From 1917, he also flew planes in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). He was a night bomber pilot, flying planes like the Farman MF.11. Once, his plane's landing gear broke off, and he had a crash. He was hurt but recovered.

Alfred Gerrard's Career as an Artist

Memorial Stone for a Hunter, 1926

After leaving the army, Gerrard studied art. He went to the Manchester School of Art in 1919. Then, he studied at the Slade School of Fine Art starting in 1920. His teacher there was Henry Tonks. In 1925, Tonks made Gerrard the head of the school's sculpture department. He held this job until 1948. After that, he was a Professor of Sculpture until 1968.

In the 1920s, Gerrard chose a special outfit to wear every day. It was a sports jacket, corduroy pants, a shirt without a collar, and a yellow tie. He bought many of these items and wore them for decades!

Carving over entrance to St Anselm's church, Kennington Cross, 1933

During World War II, Gerrard worked with the Royal Engineers. He helped with projects to hide things from enemy planes, called camouflage. He was in another plane crash and was badly hurt. Doctors thought they might have to remove his arm. But Gerrard convinced them to save it so he could keep making sculptures.

Teaching and Influence

Gerrard taught for a very long time. He influenced many artists, including Kenneth Armitage and Eduardo Paolozzi. After World War II, it was hard to get art supplies. Gerrard helped the school by finding stone, wood, and metal from bombed buildings. He was known as a great teacher and a kind person. Many of his old students would visit him at his home. He kept making sculptures even when he was in his eighties.

Artworks and Commissions

While teaching at the Slade, Gerrard also created sculptures for people. These were often very large and made of stone. He also made big wall paintings for ocean liners (large passenger ships). He illustrated books too. He made wood carvings for books like Elephants and Ethnologists in 1924. He also worked as a war artist from 1944 to 1945.

Some of his famous sculptures include:

• Memorial Stone for a Hunter, 1926. This sculpture was shown at the Tate Gallery.
• North Wind, 1928–29. This is one of eight sculptures showing the four winds. They were made for the headquarters of the London Underground.
• St Anselm, 1933. This carving is over the entrance to St Anselm's church in Kennington Cross.
• Monumental Parcel. These were gilded (gold-covered) wooden panels of horses. They were made for the ship RMS Britannic.
• Stages in the Development of Man, 1955. These are four wall panels on a building in Hemel Hempstead.
• The Dance, 1960. This was a sculpture wall. He won a Silver Medal for it from the Royal British Society of Sculptors.

An exhibition of his art was held in 1978. His work can be seen in places like the Tate Gallery and the Imperial War Museum. The Henry Moore Institute also has some of his artworks and papers.

Alfred Gerrard's Family Life

Gerrard was married three times:

1. In 1933, he married Katherine Leigh-Pemberton. She passed away in 1970.
2. In 1972, he married Nancy Sinclair. She passed away in 1995.
3. In 1995, he married Karen Sinclair.

He did not have any children.