William McMillan RA, CVO
Born 31 August 1887
Died 25 September 1977
Active: 1910 - 1970
Country of birth and death: Scotland
Sculptor, teacher
Born in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire. He was the son of William McMillan, master engraver and printer of 37 Powis Place, Aberdeen. He studied at Gray's Art School and then the Royal College of Art, London (1908–12). During the war he saw active service in France as an officer with the 5th Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
Wealth at death: £99,015 0s. 0d.
Probate date: 9 January 1978
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.
The Invocation
1910
Portrait Bust (Archibald G. Macdonnell, Esq.)
1923
Head in Green Slate
1926
Tam o' Shanter
1926
Dancer
1931 (Circa)
Statue of J. M. W. Turner
1936 (Presumed)
Mother and Child
1938
Locations
Address 6 Alexandra Mansions Chelsea London SW3 England | View on map
1917 (Circa)
Address 14A Cheyne Row Chelsea London England | View on map
1917 (Circa) - 1920 (Circa)
Address 65 Glebe Place Chelsea London England | View on map
1921 (Circa) - 1966 (Circa)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Adjudicated The Glasgow School of Art: Modelling Classes
1928 - 1929
Examiner
Exhibited at The Autumn Exhibition of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (Twenty-fourth London Exhibition), 1918
'The Ace'
Exhibited at The Annual Exhibition of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (Twenty-seventh London Exhibition), 1921
'Man's Head'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1910
Multiple works
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1923
'Portrait Bust (Archibald G. Macdonnell, Esq.)'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1926
Multiple works
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1931
'Dancer'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Sixty-Eighth (Summer Exhibition), 1936
'Statue of J. M. W. Turner '
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1917 - 1970
Exhibited 32 times up to 1951 and a further 17 times up to 1970, from 1923 he regularly showed 3 or (usually) 4 works per year, about 142 works in all
Exhibited at The Royal Scottish Academy Exhibition, 1826-
1920 - 1938
Exhibited at the annual exhibition 7 times: 1920 (3 works), 1921 (2 works), 1924 (1 work), 1925 (2 works), 1929 (3 works), 1935 (2 works) and 1938 (2 works)
Exhibited at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition, 1861-1951
1923 - 1964
Exhibited 11 times (an average of two works per show)
Exhibited at Palace of Arts Empire Exhibition Scotland, 1938
1938
Exhibition committee member for The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Sixty-First (Summer Exhibition), 1929
9 April 1929 - 19 April 1929
Responsible for the arrangement of sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1929' (1930), p. 27.
Selection committee member of Chantrey Bequest (Chantrey Fund; Royal Academy of Arts), 1875-1948
1931 - 1950
Served on the Recommending Committee in 1931, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1945, 1946, 1949 and 1950 (Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1931', 1932, p. 22).
Selection committee member of The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Sixty-Sixth (Summer Exhibition), 1934
10 April 1934 - 19 April 1934
President of the Selection Committee, and responsible for the arrangement of sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1934' (1935), p. 35.
Selection committee member of The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Seventy-Second (Summer Exhibition), 1940
9 April 1940 - 20 April 1940
Served on the Selection Committee, and was responsible for the arrangement of sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1940' (1941), p. 26.
Selection committee member of The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Seventy-Sixth (Summer Exhibition), 1944
4 April 1944 - 14 April 1944
Served on the Selection Committee, and was responsible for the arrangement of sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1944' (1945), pp. 21-22.
Selection committee member of The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Eighty-Second (Summer Exhibition), 1950
28 March 1950 - 7 April 1950
Served on the Selection Committee, and was responsible for the arrangement of sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1950' (1951), p. 28.
Speaker at Monuments Worthy and Unworthy (Art Workers Guild), 1933
Won prize Prize for the best work of sculpture exhibited in London
1925
Won the prize for a 'marble half-figure' entitled 'Syrinx' [sic]. Awarded a silver medal.
Won prize Prize for the best work of sculpture exhibited in London
1 April 1941
Won the medal for his 'Group of a Fountain in TRafalgar Square, London', which was exhibited at the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1940.
Won prize Constance Fund, 1944-
1944 - 1950
Won prize Prize for the best work of sculpture exhibited in London
1950
Won a gold medal for his bronze fountain group in the Queen Mary Garden, Regent's Park (commissioned by the Constance Fund).
Institutional and Business Connections
Adjudicated on a panel at The Glasgow School of Art
1928
Assessor
Associate member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1928 - 1932
Became fellow in 1932.
Elected ARA Royal Academy of Arts
23 April 1925 - 14 February 1933
Elected RA in 1933.
Elected RA Royal Academy of Arts
14 February 1933 - 31 December 1962
Then became Senoir RA until his death in 1977. McMillan's Diploma work was entitled 'Group in Westmoreland Slate'. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1933', (1934), p. 76.
Fellow of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1932 - 1964
Became honorary member in 1964.
Honorary member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1964 - 1977
Died in 1977.
Member of council Royal Academy of Arts
1934 - 1951
Served as a Member of the Council from 1934 to 1935, 1940 to 1941, 1944 to 1945, and from 1950 to 1951. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1933', (1934), p. 34.
Teacher at Royal Academy Schools
1929 - 1941
Listed as Master of the Sculpture School. See Popp and Valentine, 'Royal Academy of Arts Directory of Membership', (1996), p. 79. McMillan was originally appointed in 1929 for two years at a salary of £300 per annum. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1929', (1930), p. 16.
Visitor at Royal Academy Schools
1948 - 1949
Listed as a visitor to the Sculpture School from 1948 to 1949. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1948', (1949), p. 24.
Personal and Professional Connections
Nominated by George Henry
21 March 1922
For RA.
Nominated by Charles Leonard Hartwell
21 March 1922 (Presumed)
For RA.
Nominated by William Goscombe John
21 March 1922 (Presumed)
For RA.
Nominated by Francis Derwent Wood
21 March 1922
For RA.
Nominated by (Charles) Adrian (Scott) Stokes
21 March 1922 (Presumed)
For RA.
Nominated by William Hamo Thornycroft
21 March 1922 (Presumed)
For RA.
Nominated by Algernon Maylow Talmage
21 March 1922 (Presumed)
For RA.
Nominator of Maurice Lambert
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA].
Nominator of Arthur James John Ayres
For membership of the RSBS
Nominator of Edgar Allan Howes
1 November 1927 - March 1935
Two nomniations for RA, in 1927 and 1935, both unsuccessful.
Nominator of Alfred Frank Hardiman
1 November 1927 - March 1935
Two nominations for RA, in 1927 and 1935.
Nominator of Gilbert Ledward
22 February 1927
For RA.
Nominator of Charles Thomas Wheeler
1 November 1927
For RA.
Nominator of E. Roland Bevan
26 April 1928
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Frank Owen Dobson
2 December 1933 - March 1941
Two nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], in 1933 and 1941.
Nominator of (Arthur) Eric Rowton Gill
2 December 1933
For RA.
Nominator of Stanley Nicholson Babb
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Gilbert William Bayes
March 1934 - March 1941
Two nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], both unsuccessful.
Nominator of Ernest George Gillick
March 1934
For RA.
Nominator of William Ernest Reynolds-Stephens
March 1934
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of James Arthur Woodford
22 April 1934
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA].
Nominator of Charles William Dyson-Smith
26 April 1935 - April 1943
Two nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], in 1935 and 1943, both unsuccessful.
Nominator of Edwin Whitney-Smith
March 1935
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of John Rattenbury Skeaping
11 February 1936
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA].
Nominator of Leonard Stanford Merrifield
March 1941
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Winifred Turner
March 1941
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Josephine Alys Hermes de Vasconcellos
1941
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Nominator of Ferdinand Victor Blundstone
January 1944
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of (Joseph) Hermon Cawthra
January 1944
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of George Henry Ford
1944
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Nominator of Estcourt James Clack
24 April 1946
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Karin Margareta Jonzen
21 April 1949
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Edward Charles N. Folkard
13 June 1950
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Loris Rey
February 1950
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Worked with Gerald (Gerolamo) Giudici
According to information submitted by James Butler RA, Gerald Giudici carved a number of sculptures for William McMillan. Butler was employed by Gerald Giudici to assist on some projects.
Sources
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Eighteenth Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1923
November 1923
p. 43
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Fourteenth Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1910
November 1910
p. 47
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Nineteenth Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1926
November 1926
p. 81
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Twenty-first Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1931
November 1931
p. 69
Annual Report from the Council of The Royal Academy to the General Assembly of Academicians for the Year 1944, 1945 Royal Academy Annual Reports
1945
p. 17 and p. 22.
Annual Report of The Glasgow School of Art 1928-29
1928
List of Members: Royal Society of British Sculptors
2008
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
2004
Nicholas Usherwood, ‘McMillan, William (1887–1977)’, rev., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31396, accessed 2 Sept 2009]
Palace of Arts
Empire Exhibition
Scotland
1938
The Fine Art Section of the Empire Exhibition
1938
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1906-1927
1927
p.201.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1927-1938
1938
pp.18-19, p.41, p.61, p.70, p.79, p.141, pp.143-144, pp.149-150, p.190, p.203, p.213, pp.225-226.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, c.1939-c.1961
1961 (Circa)
p.6, p.13, pp.17-18, p.50, p.59, p.72, p.149, p.205, p.232.
Citing this record
'William McMillan RA, CVO', 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_1205349090, accessed 23 Sep 2023]
