James Arthur Woodford RA, OBE

Born 25 November 1893
Died 8 November 1976

Active: 1908 - 1976

Country of birth and death: England

Sculptor, painter, engraver

Born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. He was the son of Samuel Woodford (1868-1945 born and died in Nottingham), a lace designer. James attended Nottingham School of Art between 1908 and 1915 and then served from 1915 to 1918 with the 11th Sherwood Foresters. On demobilizaton Woodford continued his studies at Nottingham School of Art (February 1919 to September 1920) and then at the Royal College of Art (September 1920 to December 1921 funded by en ex-Serviceman's grant). In 1922 he was awarded the Prix de Rome in Sculpture. Woodford's three years of study at the British School at Rome were interrupted by his mother's illness and death in May 1924. He was given a leave of absence (c.May-September) during which time he made a 6'x 5' panel of the 'Descent from the Cross' at Nottingham School of Art.

On completion of his scholarship in 1925, Woodford embarked on a busy and successful career building a reputation primarily as an architectural and heraldic sculptor. From 1926 to 1970 he was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, where he showed models or studies for commissions, together with smaller carvings in wood, portraits, statuettes, and figure groups as well as paintings and drawings. Woodford's versatility later prompted his obituarist in 'The Times' to remark on his fine draughtsmanship, his skills as a portraitist, and his accomplishment as a designer of architectural and heraldic sculpture.

Woodford's larger commissions included: 'Prosperity' for Nottingham Council house (c.1928-9); bronze doors for the Liverpool Royal School for the Blind (1931); the bronze doors and stone pylon figures for the Royal Institute of British Architects' building in Portland Place (1932-4, architect Grey Wornum); wooden screens and bronze uplighters for the cabin-class smoking room of the Queen Mary (c.1934); carvings of a mermaid and seahorses for the exterior of the Good Intent Restuarant, Chelsea (1935, a collaboration with two former BSR scholars, the architect Charles Minoprio and the painter Edward Halliday); the bronze doors and bases of two flagposts for Norwich City Hall (unveiled 1938); a putto fountain for the garden of the Assembly House, Norwich (designed 1930s, installed 1954); carved stone figures and panels depicting the 'Spirit of Art' and 'Spirit of Literature' for Huddersfield Library and Art Gallery (c.1939); a stone panel 'The Hart' for Hertfordshire County Hall (c.1939); a statue thirteen feet high, of the Rt Hon. D. S. Senanayake, First Prime Minister of Ceylon; sculpture for British cemeteries in Italy commissioned by the Imperial War Graves Commission; carved groups of Thor and Marlborough for the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon; carved doors in wood and other materials for the main hall of the Carpenters’ Company, London; carved panel and keystones for Coutts Bank, Lombard Street, London; a memorial bust of Canon Wylie Blue for May Street Church, Belfast; the Second World War memorial fountain and statues in the central courtyard of British Medical Association House, Tavistock Square (c.1951-4, unveiled 1954); groups representing 'Agriculture' and 'Sea and Fisheries' in Portland stone flanking the main entrance of the Ministry of Agriculture, Whitehall (c.1952); the Robin Hood bronzes, Nottingham (c.1953-4); a substantial sculptural scheme for the Lloyd's of London building comprising: reliefs in Portland stone of the four elements, the coat of arms of Lloyds, and 84 pier heads topping capitals on the Lime Street and Billiter Street ends of the building (1954-7); a memorial bust on a granite plinth to Coxswain Henry Blogg, Cromer; the Ebenezer Howard Memorial, Welwyn Garden City; Lion and Unicorn for Wandsworth County Court; aluminum panels for the St. John's Wood Barracks; and a bronze garden column for Dr Lawrence Pilkington, Frodsham, Cheshire.

In 1953 Woodford was commissioned to make ten six-foot high 'Queen's Beasts' in plaster to decorate the approach to Westminster Abbey for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. This project won him particular renown. In 1958 Woodford was commissioned to carve a set of the 'Queen's Beasts' in Portland stone (the works were paid for by Sir Henry Ross, Chairman of the Distillers Company in Edinburgh) and these are now located at Kew Gardens outside the Palm House. Meanwhile, the original plaster 'Queen's Beasts', after fulfilling their original role and temporary display at Hampton Court and Windsor, were gifted to Canada (1959). They are now in the collection of the Canadian Museum of History.

Woodford's success led to a commission from the Ministry of Public Buildings in 1962 for a new design for the Royal Coat of Arms. This relief, made in three sizes, was distributed as necessary to British embassies, important overseas missions, Royal Courts of Justice, and other major Crown buildings in Britain and abroad. The casting was done by Carron & Co. in Falkirk and Morris Singer and Co. in London each work took about four months to complete. Amongst the cities and countries that contain examples of this coat of arms (and other commissions for embassy buildings) are: Ottawa; Mexico City; Buenos Aires; Washington, DC; Delhi; Athens; Colombo; Trinidad; Tehran; Swaziland; and several locations in Italy.

He was an active member of a number of societies and institutions, including: the Art Workers Guild (1927-46, with a gap between 1932-6); the Royal Society of British Sculptors (1934-68); Associate, full member, and Senior member of the Royal Academy (1937, 1945, 1968); Royal Mint Advisory Committee (1946-). In recognition of a distinguished career Woodford received the Order of the British Empire in 1953.

Writing about Woodford's service during the Second World War, the Asiatic scholar and retired civil servant, Reginald E. Enthoven captured something of the artist's character and versatility: 'Beneath a burly countrified appearance, Woodford was an artist of very considerable sensitivity, as was borne out also in his drawings. During World War II, as an Air Ministry camouflage officer, he found himself a trifle bewildered, in a motley group mostly architects, painters or sculptors much younger than himself, and rather edgy from the blitz, to draw with unfamiliar instruments and, when necessary squeeze into small aeroplanes. All this he took with a tolerant twinkle, looking forward to the day when he might return once more to his studio, to concentrate on work for which his talent was so eminently suited.' 'James Woodford', R.E. Enthoven, RIBA Journal, vol. 84, no. 1, January 1977, p. 42.

Wealth at death: £23,309 0s. 0d.
Probate date: 1 March 1977

Citing this record

'James Arthur Woodford RA, OBE', 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_1208277486, accessed 30 Mar 2023]