Thomas Bayley
Born 1893
Died 1966
Active: 1911 - 1966
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, teacher
Born in Willesden, London. Studied at Chester School of Art and the Royal College of Art (awarded Travelling Scholarship in 1923). Served as a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War in France, Egypt and Palestine. He later taught modelling at Cheltenham School of Art, Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and in the 1950s at Ealing School of Art. He was responsible for the 'stone age man' dioramas at the Natural History Museum and was the author of 'The Craft of Model Making', Dryad Press, Leicester, 1938 and 'Model Making in Cardboard', Dryad Press, Leicester, 1958. He suffered badly from silicosis.
The artist David Chedgey submitted this short reminiscence about Bayley's teaching: 'Tom Bayley was my sculpture tutor at Ealing Art School from 1956-9; he was wracked with silicosis and taught with his walking stick - I'd become aware of a rasping wheeze behind me which would continue for a minute or so, then, if he approved of the clay modelling I was engaged on, he'd poke me in the small of my back and give a rattling chuckle, if not his stick would be slowly raised above his head, then whistle down cleaving my work in half before he shuffled on to his next pupil. I don't ever remember him speaking, though I suppose he must have done to set the projects, I do remember him pointing me at a block of Portland stone on which he'd written in blue chalk 'Inside is a man in a dressing gown - find him'. We all loved and feared him at the same time...' (12 February 2013)
Locations
Address 16 Black Friars Chester | View on map
1911 (Circa)
Lodging at this address
Address 45 Manor Street Chelsea London | View on map
1928 (Circa)
Address 3 Devonshire Gardens Chiswick London | View on map
1931 (Circa) - 1955 (Circa)
Studio located at 2 Albert Studios Albert Bridge Road London SW | View on map
1924 (Circa)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1924 - 1955
Exhibited 5 times, 5 works
Institutional and Business Connections
Member of Art Workers Guild
6 February 1931 - 1966 (Presumed)
Studied at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1922 (Circa) - 1923 (Presumed)
Left the College in the 1922-1923 session; no start date is given. Subsequent profession is described as modelling master, Cheltenham School of Art, and 'sculptor'. See 'Register of Students', (1907-1924), p. 146 and loose pages bound within this volume.
Teacher of modeling at Camberwell School of Art
September 1930 - June 1940
Listed as a teacher of day classes in modelling from life and modelling, carving and letter cutting. Bayley also taught evening classes in 'modelling for carvers'. From 1931-1932 onwards Bayley also taught evening classes in 'carving' (presumably wood or stone carving).
Sources
Art Workers Guild Annual Reports, 1913-1933
1931, p.11.
British Artists 1880-1940
1980
p. 48
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2011
RG14PN21863 RG78PN1302 RD450 SD2 ED13
Register of Royal College of Art Students, 1907-1924 Royal College of Art
1907
p. 146 and loose pages bound within this volume.
Citing this record
'Thomas Bayley', 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_1206486248, accessed 04 Oct 2023]
