Alan Lydiat Durst ARA
Born 27 June 1883
Died 22 December 1970
Active: 1913 - 1946
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, ivory carver, teacher, officer in the royal marines
Born in Alverstoke, Hampshire. He was the son of William Durst (c.1839-1922), vicar of Alverstoke and later canon of Winchester Cathedral (1888-1912). Alan was educated at Marlborough College and in Switzerland. He served as an officer in the Royal Marine Light Infantry from 1901–13 (in 1913 he was listed as a captain in the reserve officers of the Royal Marines) and from 1914–19 (he achieved the temporary rank of major in 1917). In 1919 he was permitted to retire on gratuities (based on UK Navy Lists). The rate for 12 years service was £1,200 in 1878 when these rules on retirement were introduced, it is assumed this payment had been increased since then. (See ADM/196/63, National Archives). He was recalled for emergency service in April 1921 during the Coal Strike and again during the Second World War.
Durst studied at the Central School under Richard Garbe in 1913 and 1920, and also at Chartres. He was curator of the Watts Museum, Compton, from 1919 to 1920 and began practising as a sculptor in 1920, working almost entirely as a direct carver in stone, wood and ivory. Durst taught wood carving at the Royal College of Art between 1925 and 1940 and from 1945 to 1948. He was a member of the London Group between 1927 and 1951. His first one-man exhibition was at the Leicester Galleries in 1930. He was the author of 'Wood Carving', 1938.
His most important works included: figures for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1931); the oakscreen and rood at Woodchurch, Wirral, Cheshire (1935) with the architect Bernard Miller; the font at Llandaff Cathedral (1952); the label stops (carvings of wild birds) for Winchester Cathedral; the ivory Annunciation (1948) gifted to Peterborough Cathedral in memory of Durst's wife; and seven statues for the upper west front of Peterborough Cathedral (completed 1964).
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.
Designed Panels for Reredos for Chalford Church, Gloucester
Carved Panels for Reredos for Chalford Church, Gloucester
Standing figure
1929
Sleeping faun
1938
Woman
1938
Ursus Major
1938
Head of a girl
1939
House
1939
Locations
Address Flat 4, 67 Fitzjohn's Avenue Hampstead London | View on map
1921 (Circa) - 1922
Studio located at 4 Wychcombe Studios England's Lane London NW3 | View on map
1923 (Circa) - 1970
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at Memorial Exhibition of Sculpture by the Late Henry Poole, RA (Leicester Galleries), 1929
Multiple works
Exhibited at British Handicrafts by the Arts and Crafts Society and the Red Rose Guild, 1940
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Third, 1929
'Standing figure'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Twelfth, 1938
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Thirteenth, 1939
'House'
Exhibited at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Eighty-Second Annual Exhibition, 1943
Multiple works
Exhibited at Sculpture by Alan Durst (Leicester Galleries), 1930
Exhibited at Sculpture by Alan Durst. (Leicester Galleries), 1935
December 1935
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1938 - 1970
Exhibited 25 times (8 times up to 1951), 48 works in all
Selection committee member of Exhibition 20 by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, 1946
1946 (Circa)
For sculpture section
Speaker at Ivory carving (Art Workers Guild), 1924
Speaker at Wood as a Sculptors' Medium (Art Workers Guild), 1931
Institutional and Business Connections
Associate member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1949 - 1951
Became a fellow in 1951.
Elected ARA Royal Academy of Arts
23 April 1953 - 31 December 1958
Then became Senior ARA until his death in 1970.
Fellow of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1951
Member of Art Workers Guild
2 February 1923 - 1928
Resigned in 1928.
Member of The Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society
1938 (Presumed) - 1946 (Presumed)
Craft member 1946.
Member of council Royal Society of British Sculptors
1951
Teacher of woodcarving at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1926 (Presumed) - 1947
Listed as a teacher of woodcarving in the first avaliable school prospectus from 1926-1927. Last listed in the 1947-1948 prospectus.
Personal and Professional Connections
Collaborated with (William) Edward Barnsley
Collaborated with Nan Reid
Fellow committee member with Herbert William Palliser
1946 (Circa)
On sculpture section of 'Exhibition 20 by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society'
Fellow committee member with Harold Parker
1946 (Circa)
On sculpture section of 'Exhibition 20 by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society'
Nominated by Gilbert Ledward
19 December 1935 - February 1951
Three nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy ARA]. Date of nomination not specified as 'start date' or 'end date': March 1943.
Nominated by Malcolm Osborne
19 December 1935
For Associate of the Royal Academy ARA].
Nominated by Charles Thomas Wheeler
19 December 1935 - February 1951
Three nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy ARA]. Date of nomination not specified as 'start date' or 'end date': March 1943.
Nominated by Alfred Turner
19 December 1935
For Associate of the Royal Academy ARA].
Nominated by Alfred Frank Hardiman
19 December 1935 - February 1951
Two nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], in 1935 and 1951.
Nominated by William Reid Dick
March 1943 - March 1951
Two nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], in 1943 and 1951.
Nominator of Estcourt James Clack
April 1954
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of David McFall
April 1954
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA].
Nominator of William James Bloye
March 1955
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Karin Margareta Jonzen
March 1957
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Sources
Art Workers Guild Annual Reports, 1913-1933
1923, p.11; 1924, p.6; 1931, p.8.
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society: Members and Craftsmen
1946 (Probable)
Catalogue of British Handicrafts by the Arts and Crafts Society and the Red Rose Guild, 1940
1940
Cat. Nos. 147, 149, pp. 14, 15
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
Class: RG12; Piece: 937; Folio: 45; Page: 1; GSU roll: 6096047
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2007
2007
Name: Alan Lydiat Durst
Birth Date: 27 Jun 1883
Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1970
Age at Death: 87
Registration district: Hampstead
Inferred County: Greater London
Volume: 5b
Page: 1871
Ernest Brown & Phillips Ltd., The Leicester Galleries. An index of 1422 catalogues of exhibitions of European Modern Art and 20th Century British Art, held between 1902 and 1977
http://www.ernestbrownandphillips.ltd.uk (accessed 17 July 2019)
Prospectus of the Royal College of Art, 1926-1927 Royal College of Art
1926
Unpaged staff list.
Prospectus of the Royal College of Art, 1947-1948 Royal College of Art
1947
Unpaged staff list.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1927-1938
1938
p.221.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, c.1939-c.1961
1961 (Circa)
p.82, p.104, p.181, p.205.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Annual Report of the Council, for the Year Ending 31 December 1949, to be Presented at the Forty-Sixth Annual General Meeting, 1950
February 1950
p. 3.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Annual Report of the Council, for the Year Ending 31 December 1951, to be Presented at the Forty-Eighth Annual General Meeting, 1952
February 1952
pp. 2-3.
The Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
2008
The Times, Wednesday, Dec 30, 1970; pg. 10; Issue 58059; col E
Mr Alan Durst Mr. George Pace.
Citing this record
'Alan Lydiat Durst ARA', 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_1207216892, accessed 30 Nov 2021]
