Frederick Edward McWilliam CBE RA (1909 – 1992), was a Northern Irish surrealist sculptor. He worked chiefly in stone, wood and bronze.
McWilliam was born in Banbridge, County Down, Ireland, the son of Dr William McWilliam, a local general practitioner. Growing up in Banbridge had a great influence on his work. He made references to furniture makers such as Carson the Cooper and Proctors in his letters to his friend, Marjorie Burnett.
He attended Campbell College in Belfast and later attended Belfast College of Art from 1926. After 1928, he continued to study at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He originally intended to become a painter, but influenced by A.H. Gerrard, Head of Sculpture at the Slade and by Henry Moore whom he met there, he turned to sculpture. He received the Robert Ross Leaving Scholarship which enabled him and his wife (Beth Crowther) to travel to Paris where he visited the studio of Brancusi.
During the first year of the Second World War, he joined the Royal Air Force and was stationed in England for four years where he was engaged in interpreting aerial reconnaissance photographs. He was then posted to India. While there he taught art in the Hindu Art School in New Delhi.
After his return from India, he taught for a year at the Chelsea School of Art. He was then invited by A. H. Gerrard to teach sculpture at the Slade. He continued in this post until 1968.
The 1950s saw him receive many commissions including the Four Seasons Group for the Festival of Britain exhibition in 1951. A major commission (1957) was Princess Macha for Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry.
In 1959 he was elected to the Royal Academy. In 1963 he resigned from in protest at the Hanging Committee's rejection of a William Gear painting, also resigning from the London Group and not participating in future mixed exhibitions. In 1989 he was re-elected as a Senior R.A.
During the Northern Ireland Troubles he produced a series of bronzes (1972–73) known as Women of Belfast in response to the Abercorn Restaurant bombing.
In 1964 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Queen's University Belfast. In 1966 he was appointed CBE and in 1971 he won the Oireachtas Gold Medal. McWilliam is represented in many public collections, including MOMA (New York) and Tate Britain. In 1984 the National Self-Portrait Gallery purchased a McWilliam self-portrait amongst acquisitions from fellow Northerners Brian Ballard, Brian Ferran and TP Flanagan.
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland organized a retrospective of his work in 1981 and a second retrospective was shown at the Tate Gallery in 1989 for his 80th birthday.
McWilliam's style of work consists of sculptures of the human form contorted into strange positions, often described as modern and surreal.
In September 2009 Banbridge District Council opened a gallery and studio dedicated to the work of and named after McWilliam.
© 2025. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by Frederick Edward McWilliam or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only
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| Frederick Edward McWilliam |
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| Spanish Head, c. 1938-39 |
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| Eye, Nose and Cheek, c. 1939 |
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| Profile, c. 1940 |
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| Man and Wife, c. 1948 |
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| Cain and Abel, c. 1952 |
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| Seated Woman with Hat, c. 1953 |
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| The Orator, c. 1955 |
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| Elisabeth Frink, c. 1958 |
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| Standing Relief IV, c. 1958 |
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| Seated Woman, Study, c. 1961 |
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| Study for 'Puy de Dôme' Figure I, c. 1961 |
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| Sitting-up Figure, c. 1962 |
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| Standing Figure, c. 1963 |
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| Pillow of Strength, c. 1965 |
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| Gold Venus, c. 1968 |
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| Girl Waiting, c. 1970 |
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| Girl with Omissions, c. 1970 |
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| Girl with Omissions, c. 1970 |
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| Girl on edge of bed II, c. 1974 |
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| Woman in Bomb Blast, c. 1974 |
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| HELP – Women of Belfast Series, c. 1975 |
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| Sol y ombra, c. 1975 |
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| Up the Grass Roots, c. 1976 |
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| Lady into Fish, c. 1977 |
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| Crossed Legs, c. 1978 |
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| Legs Static, c. 1978 |
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| Judo Players, c. 1980 |
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| Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Derry Londonderry |
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| Reclining Figure |
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| Study for 'Witch of Agnesi' |
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| Study for Hampstead Figure |
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