Alexander Fisher Hon ARCA
Born 1864
Died 21 April 1936
Active: 1881 - 1926
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, enameller, silversmith, metal worker, medallist
Born in Stoke-on-Trent. He was the son of Alexander Fisher snr (c.1837-1925, born in Glasgow, died in Torquay?), a ceramic painter and art teacher in Devon. The young Fisher was a National Scholar at the National Art Training School (Royal College of Art) between 1885 and 1886. His occupation on entry to the college was 'potter's decorator' and he was listed as an 'independent enameller' on his departure.
Fisher initially established a reputation as a metalworker, jeweller, and enameller. There are a number of his works in this latter medium in pubic collections including the Delaware Art Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In 1906 The Studio, London published an illustrated book by Fisher entitled 'The Art of Enamelling upon Metal, with a short appendix concerning miniature painting on enamel'.
Between 1901 and 1911, Fisher turned to sculpture. He became a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1906 and was actively involved with the society until 1924. He exhibited regularly with the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, and at the Royal Academy of Arts.
In 1919 Fisher was commissioned to design a war memorial in Stanway village, Gloucestershire by Mary, Countess of Wemyss. (Stanway House is the historic seat of the Earls of Wemyss and March, and the family had lost two sons in the Great War.) Although the basic conception of the memorial was Fisher's, the details were modified during the planning process. His main contribution was the remarkable sculptural group of St George and the dragon which is the focal point of the memorial. The square column and steps (supporting the sculpture) were designed by the architect Sir Philip Sidney Stott (1858-1937), who lived nearby in Stanton. Finally, Eric Gill was commissioned to carve the inscription and some decorative details by Mary Wemyss. The memorial was unveiled in 1920.
There is a possibility that Fisher was involved with the production of stained glass (based on unconfirmed evidence uncovered during research on Irish sources). He moved to Hampshire sometime during the 1920s and early 1930s, and he died in Southsea. Fisher's son, William Henry also became an artist.
The details of Fisher's National Scholarship are taken from Apendix B., List of National Scholars (Art) from February 1885 to July 1891, 39th Report of the Department of Science and Art, 1892, p. 324. There are copies of Fisher's book on enamels in a number of libraries (details taken from the British Library catalogue). The project is indebted to Dr. Marjorie (Holly) Trusted for drawing attention to Fisher's sculpture on the war memorial at Stanway. Further details of the memorial are available on the Historic England website: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1154209 (accessed 4 September 2020).
Wealth at death: £11,147 19s. 0d.
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited. Click here for more information.
A Tryptych - The Bridge of Life
Table fountain in bronze, silvered
The Venus Mirror
1901 (Presumed)
The Spring of Life
1901
St George and the Dragon
1901 (Presumed)
Candle Stick
1926 (Presumed)
£30
A Knight and a Lady
1926 (Presumed)
£45
Letter Weight
1926 (Presumed)
£15
Box
1926 (Presumed)
£20
Morse
1926 (Presumed)
£75
Box
1926 (Presumed)
£22
Statuette
1926 (Presumed)
£55
Locations
Address Petitor Road St. Mary Church England | View on map
1881 (Circa)
Address 139 Oxford Street London England | View on map
1894 (Presumed)
Address 17 Warwick Gardens Kensington London England | View on map
1904 (Presumed) - 1910 (Presumed)
Address 12 St Mary Abbot's Place Kensington London England | View on map
1911 (Circa) - 1918 (Circa)
Studio located at 4 Warwick Studios High Road London England | View on map
1897 (Presumed) - 1899 (Presumed)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Adjudicated Art Exhibitions of the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales. Competitive Exhibits at the Patti Pavilion, 1926
26 July 1926 - 12 August 1926
Applied Art Adjudicatior for Section IV. Applied Art., competition nos.24, 29, 30 and 31.
Exhibited at Second Exhibition of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1899
'A Jewel Case'
Exhibited at Fourth Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1904
'A Tryptych - The Bridge of Life'
Exhibited at Fifth Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1905
'Cleopatra'
Exhibited at Sixth Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1906
'Case of Jewellery'
Exhibited at Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society: Ninth Exhibition, 1910
'Table fountain in bronze, silvered'
Exhibited at The Thirty-sixth Spring Exhibition at the Rooms of the Society, New Street (Royal Birmingham Society of Artists), 1901
'St George the Dragon'
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, Arts & Crafts Exhibition, 1900
Multiple works
Exhibited at Leeds City Art Gallery, Arts & Crafts Exhibition, 1904
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1894 - 1918
Exhibited 21 times, forty-one works in all (a mixture of enamels (primary medium until about 1903), medallions, statuettes, objects in precious metals, and paintings, subjects vary from portraits to ideal works).
Exhibited at Autumn exhibition of modern pictures in oil and water-colours: the thirty-first (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool), 1901
1901
Silver Jewel Casket, with six transparent enamels, illustrating 'The Story of Cupid and Psyche' (cat. no. 1629, not for sale).
Exhibited at Art Exhibitions of the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales. Loan Collections at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, 1926
26 July 1926 - 12 August 1926
Institutional and Business Connections
Associate member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1923 - 1924
Committee member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1921 - 1922
Elected to serve on the Exhibitions Committee.
Member of The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
1893 - 1910 (Presumed)
Elected in 1893. Member of committee from at least 1897-1899.
Member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1906 - 1924
Amongst the suggested second wave of those invited to join 'without further nomination' [2 March 1905, Royal Society of British Sculptors, Minutes of Council Meetings, Vol.I]: but name removed from list following further discussion at next meeting [3 April 1905, Royal Society of British Sculptors, Minutes of Council Meetings, Vol.I].
Member of council Royal Society of British Sculptors
1920 - 1924
Nominee of The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
1893
Membership proposed by H.Stannus and seconded by Walter Crane
Personal and Professional Connections
Assistant was Percy Oswald Reeves
1903
MSA, Dublin, 'Staff and Salaries', Appendix L, p. 90.
P.O. Reeves former Assistant to Fisher for three years. Fisher may have run a Stained Glass Business in London.
Nominated by Frank Lynn Jenkins
5 November 1906
For membership of Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Seconded by David McGill
5 November 1906
For membership of Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Teacher to Ernestine Mills
Whilst at South Kensington School of Art (according to Elizabeth Crawford, p. 415)
Descriptions of Practice
Listed as medallist Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, Coin, Gem, and Seal-Engravers, Mint Masters, &c., Ancient and Modern with References to their Works, B.C. 500 - A.D. 1900, Volume II, 1904 Biographical Dictionary of Medallists
Listed as a contemporary sculptor, medallist and enameller. Exhibited a number of medallions at the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1899: see Forrer, vol. 2, (1904), p. 100 [summary].
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'China Painter' and his father, also Alexander Fisher, 'Ceramic Painter'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Artist, Painter, Modelling, & Enamelling' neither employer nor employed
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Artist, Sculptor, Enameller' employer working at home
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Sculptor (Artist)' working on own account
Sources
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society: List of Members, 1894
1894
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society: List of Members, 1897
1897
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society: List of Members, 1904
1904
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society: List of Members, 1907
1907
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. List of Members, 1898
1898
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. List of Members, 1899
1899
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. List of Members, 1900
1900
Arts and Crafts Society: Catalogue of the Ninth Exhibition.
1910
pp.157-158.
Catalogue of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition 1900
1900
Cat. No. 86, pp. 36, 75
Catalogue of the Arts & Crafts Exhibition 1904
1904
Cat. Nos. 249, 371, 379, 623, 626, pp. 17, 23, 24, 40, 128
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
Class: RG11; Piece: 2170; Folio: 45; Page: 13; GSU roll: 1341523
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
Class: RG12; Piece: 76; Folio: 58; Page: 4; GSU roll: 6095186
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2005
Class: RG13; Piece: 20; Folio: 49; Page: 14
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2011
Class: RG14; Piece: 9791; Schedule Number: 131
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
2006
Alexander Fisher
1864
Jan-Feb-Mar
Stoke upon Trent
View Ecclesiastical Parishes associated with this Registration District
Staffordshire 6b
p. 188
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Death Date: Death Place: Probate Date: Registry:
Alexander Fisher
21 Apr 1936 Hampshire, England 18 Jun 1936 London, England
Four voting papers for election of members and of committee at annual meeting, 19th December 1893
1893
List of Members: Royal Society of British Sculptors
2008
Report by the Committee of Inquiry into the work carried on by the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, together with Minutes of evidence, Appendices and Index, 1906
1906
MSA, Dublin, 'Staff and Salaries', Appendix L, p. 90.
P. O. Reeves former Assistant to Fisher for three years.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 1, 1905-1913
19 May 1913
2 March 1905; 3 April 1905; 5 November 1906.
The Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales. Catalogue of the Art Loan Exhibition 1926
1926
The Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales. Catalogue of the Competitive Art Exhibition 1926
1926
Citing this record
'Alexander Fisher Hon ARCA', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1203029470, accessed 24 Sep 2023]
