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Ralph Brown RA (1928 – 2013) was an English sculptor who came to national prominence in the late 1950s with his large-scale bronze Meat Porters, commissioned for Harlow New Town, Essex and is known for his sensual, figurative sculptures.

Ralph Brown, Meat Porters, 1959
Ralph Brown, Meat Porters, 1959

Early career


Ralph Brown was born in Leeds, and is the younger contemporary of the eminent group of Yorkshire sculptors that include Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Kenneth Armitage. Between 1948 and 1951 he studied at Leeds College of Art, where both Moore and Hepworth attended. He then spent a year at Hammersmith School of Art before entering the Royal College of Art in 1952 where he was taught by Frank Dobson, John Skeaping and Leon Underwood.[1] He won a number of scholarships including a trip to Paris to work in the studio of Ossip Zadkine where he also saw work by Auguste Rodin and Germain Richier and met Giacometti. In 1957 he won the Boise Scholarship to Italy where he was inspired by the work of Marino Marini and Giacomo Manzu. Brown also worked in Cannes making mosaics for Pablo Picasso


Style and technique


Like Henry Moore who befriended him and encouraged him by buying his work, Brown's art is deeply rooted in the figurative tradition. However, whilst his predecessors focused their energies on carving and maintaining 'truth to materials', Brown concentrated on modelling allowing him to interact with his material on a more intimate level. In the introductory catalogue essay for Brown's major retrospective show at Leeds City Art Gallery in 1988 Dennis Farr commented: "So much of Brown's sculpture is his search for equivalents, in formal terms, for sensual experiences."[2]


Harlow New Town Commission


Brown came to national prominence in the late 1950s with his large-scale bronze group Meat Porters, commissioned for Harlow New Town, Essex. The piece is a tribute to physical labour with two figures hauling an ox carcass, a subject fitting to the busy market square and a form that brings dynamism to the otherwise rigid architecture. The concrete version of the piece won second prize for sculpture at the John Moore's Exhibition, Liverpool in 1959.[3]


Recognition


During the 1950s Brown's work attracted much critical acclaim and was shown alongside his contemporaries Kenneth Armitage, William Turnbull and Eduardo Paolozzi. Brown was elected a Royal Academician in 1972 and his work can be found in many prestigious public collections including the Tate Collection, Arts Council of Great Britain, Leeds City Art Gallery and many other public collections in Britain and overseas. Brown had a major retrospective at Leeds City Art Gallery in 1988. Ralph Brown is represented by Pangolin London.[2]


Public collections



Public sculpture



Solo exhibitions



Publications



References


  1. "Explore Ralph Brown". Netherlands Institute for Art History. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  2. "Pangolin London". pangolinlondon.com.
  3. Gillian Whiteley. "Ralph Brown obituary". The Guardian.
  4. "Ralph Brown - Tate". Tate.
  5. "Pangolin London". pangolinlondon.com.
  6. "Pangolin London". pangolinlondon.com.
  7. Henry Moore. "The Henry Moore Foundation - Home". henry-moore.org.


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