Ernest Cole

Born 1890
Died 1979

Active: 1910 - 1931

Country of birth and death: England

Sculptor

Born in 1890 in Greenwich. Educated at Goldsmiths' College, and at the Royal College of Art where his work was discovered by Charles Ricketts and Selwyn Image. Ricketts became one of Cole's greatest supporters, comparing him to Alfred Stevens. Cole studied in Rome and Florence on a county council scholarship in 1910. Early works included a bust of the Revd. Stewart Hedlam and a marble relief of Elizabeth Powell for Laurence Binyon (both c.1909). His life size figure of St John the Baptist was added to the Edmund Davis Collection at Holland Park, 1913.

In 1914, the architect, Ralph Knott, commissioned figure groups from Cole to embellish the twelve pavilions at County Hall, London. Cole completed five and half of these works between 1915-16. Progress was interrupted by military service; Cole enlisted in the Artists' Rifles in 1916 and then served in France as a second lieutenant in the 4th Reserve York and Lancaster regiment (1917). Fearing for his safety, Cole's supporters intervened and he was transferred to military intelligence. After demobilization, he continued work on the groups for County Hall but, despite increases in his fee, his output declined and Knott considered his work unsatisfactory. By 1921 Cole's contract was terminated and some additional groups were commissioned from Alfred Hardiman in the late 1920s for the pavilions at the northern end of the building. Cole's sculptures caused some controversy on their unveiling, although Laurence Binyon, Charles Ricketts and Selwyn Image remained strong supporters. (See County Hall (1991), pp. 57-69)

From about 1921-24, Cole travelled abroad continuing his studies in New York, Italy and Germany. He then returned to Britain and settled in Kingston, near Canterbury in Kent. Cole was appointed Professor Sculpture at the Royal College of Art after the death of Francis Derwent Wood in 1924 but he only stayed in post for a few months. After leaving the college, Cole completed a major commission for three large bronze figures for Alexander Park Lyle at Glendelvine, Murthly, Perthshire.

Citing this record

'Ernest Cole', 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_1205367543, accessed 21 Mar 2023]