Benno Schotz (28 August 1891 – 11 October 1984) was an Estonian-born Scottish sculptor, and one of Scotland's leading artists during the twentieth century.

Benno Schotz
Benno Schotz in 1949, taken by Lida Moser
Born(1891-08-28)28 August 1891
Died11 October 1984(1984-10-11) (aged 93)
Resting placeJerusalem
EducationRoyal Technical College, Glasgow School of Art
Known forSculptor

Biography

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Early life

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Schotz was the youngest of six children of Jewish parents, Jacob Schotz, a watchmaker, and Cherna Tischa Abramovitch.[1] He was educated at the Boys Grammar School of Pärnu, Estonia. Later he studied at the Grossherzogliche Technische Hochschule in Darmstadt, Germany.

In 1912, he immigrated to Glasgow, where he gained an engineering diploma from the Royal Technical College. From 1914 to 1923 he worked in the drawing office of John Brown & Company, Clydebank shipbuilders, while attending evening classes in sculpture at the Glasgow School of Art.[2]

Artistic career

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Schotz became a full-time sculptor in 1923. An important early patron was the Dundee art collector William Boyd, thanks to whose influence both Dundee Dental School and Dundee Art Galleries & Museums hold pieces by him.[3] From this point onwards his reputation grew and he became a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy, head of sculpture at the Glasgow School of Art (a post he held from 1938 until his retirement in 1961), and eventually was appointed the Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland in 1963. His pupils included the artists Hannah Frank, Stewart Bowman Johnson, and Inge King (née Neufeld).

His homes at West Campbell Street and later Kirklee Road were a focus for meetings of artists, writers, actors, and politicians. He was a member of the Glasgow Art Club.[4] He helped refugees including Jankel Adler and Josef Herman.

He was a committed Zionist, and also proud of his adopted Scotland. He worked until a few weeks before his death at the age of 93. He was buried in Jerusalem.

He was made a Freeman of the City of Glasgow in 1981. In that year, Gordon Wright published his autobiography, Bronze in My Blood.

Work

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During his career, Schotz produced several hundred portraits and compositions including figure compositions, religious sculptures, semi-abstracts, and modelled portraits. His bust of James Maxton is on public display at the Maxton remembrance garden in Barrhead near Paisley. Other publicly accessible work includes:

The majority of these works were in Glasgow and the surrounding area. He was responsible for the repair of the bridge sculpture at Kelvingrove Park beside the now refurbished art gallery and museum.

Although Benno Schotz is frequently referred to as an Estonian sculptor, all his professional life was in Scotland. He became a naturalised British subject in 1930. He became a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy, in 1937. He headed the Sculpture and Ceramics dept. of the Glasgow School of Art from 1938 until his retirement in 1960. His active life as a sculptor continued thereafter with renewed vigor and he created his most ambitious and monumental works over the next 20 years. In 1963, he was appointed The Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland, a member of the Royal household. A major retrospective exhibition of his works (1971) was held at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. His interest in the drawing of trees developed, with the drawings becoming more and more complex and abstract. He mounted a successful exhibition of Sculptures and Related Drawings in Glasgow (1961). His last sculpture was executed less than six weeks before his death, aged 93. He was Life-President of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. Honors include: Freedom of the City of Glasgow; Honorary Fellow of The Hebrew University; Honorary LL.D, Strathclyde University; Honorary Member of the British Society of British Sculptors; Honorary Member of the Royal Institute of Architects in Scotland. Source: his daughter, Mrs. S. C. Crome, and son, Mr. A. M Schotz.

Books

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  • Schotz, Benno (1981). Bronze in my blood : the memoirs of Benno Schotz. Edinburgh, Scotland: G. Wright Pub. ISBN 9780903065375.
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References

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  1. ^ "This year the Glasgow sculptor Benno Schotz celebrates his 93rd birthday". Scottish Field. 130. Holmes McDougall: 4. 1984. LCCN 51031311.
  2. ^ Manz, S. & Panayi, P. (2013) Refugees and Cultural Transfer to Britain page 56 Routledge. ISBN 1317965930 Retrieved March 2015
  3. ^ a b "DENTAL HOSPITAL BENEFACTRESS", Dundee Courier, p. 5, 19 September 1936
  4. ^ Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851–1951 Retrieved 17 August 2011
  5. ^ "Kilsyth Today". Kilsyth Community Council. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Keir Hardie bust goes on display in Glasgow". The Scotsman. JPIMedia Publishing Ltd. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2023.

Further reading

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  • Jonathan Blackwood, "Benno Schotz: Unknown Estonian Sculptor", kunst.ee. Autumn 2007, Tallinn
  • Benno Schotz, Bronze In My Blood (Edinburgh: Gordon Wright, 1981)
  • Hugh T. Stevenson, "Schotz, Benno (1891–1984)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 29 July 2007
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