Alfred Frank Hardiman RA, RS, FRBS
Born 21 May 1891
Died 17 April 1949
Active: 1911 - 1949
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor
Born at 17 Orde Hall Street, Holborn, London. Alfred Frank came from a family of silversmiths and art metal workers based in Clerkenwell and Islington. His father was Alfred William Hardiman (1865-1948), a master silversmith, and his grandfather was Alfred James Hardiman (1843-1932, born and died in Clerkenwell) a silversmith and brass brazier who was based in St. John's Terrace, and then Goswell Street in Clerkenwell.
Alfred Frank was educated at St John's Highbury and then worked as an engineering draughtsman. He began his art training at the Northampton Institute, Clerkenwell in 1911 studying in the evenings under Charles Hartwell. After winning an LCC Scholarship later the same year Hardiman went to the Royal College of Art where he obtained in his diploma in 1914. That year he won a Special Talent Scholarship and a British Institute Scholarship to the Royal Academy Schools, also securing the Landseer Scholarship (£40 for two years).
However, the First World War interrupted his studies and in 1915 Hardiman enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force). He served as an engineering draughtsman throughout the war. In 1918 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and in January 1919 resumed his studies at the Royal Academy Schools. The following year he was awarded the Rome Scholarship in Sculpture.
Hardiman studied at the British School at Rome (BSR) between early 1921 and the summer or autumn of 1924. Other students included the painter, Winifred Knights who was his exact contemporary and later scholars such as Walter Thomas Monnington and James Woodford. Hardiman was considered one of the brightest talents among post-First World War scholars in sculpture. He consequently received significant personal support from the secretary of the BSR, Evelyn Shaw, into the 1930s and was commissioned (c.1927-9) to make a nine foot bronze statue of St George for a niche in the home of Stephen Courtauld. (Courtauld was a member of the BSR Council and an important patron for the school, having endowed the Rome Scholarship in Engraving in 1919.)
On Hardiman's return from Rome, he was commissioned to make four statues for London's County Hall to complete statuary groups left unfinished by Ernest Cole. These represented: recreation; town planning; child education; and care of the sick (c.1925-6 or 7 although County Hall (1991), pp. 57-69 gives a later date of 1930). In 1928-9 Hardiman was involved in a legal dispute with Frank Baines, the architect of Imperial Chemicals House, concerning a cancelled commission to design one of the statuary groups for the new building. (The dispute arose because the entire commission was abruptly awarded to Charles Sargeant Jagger after the latter made a direct appeal to Sir Alfred Mond, one of the company's founding directors.)
This proved a temporary setback because in 1929 Hardiman was awarded the prestigious commission to create an equestrian statue to Earl Haig (1861-1928) to be erected in Whitehall. However this project proved highly challenging and controversial, not least because Haig's widow, Lady Haig had exacting ideas about the appearance and design of the work. This and public criticism of the early models, significantly extended the time taken to complete the commission. The statue was finally installed in 1937 to a mixed reception.
Meanwhile Hardiman had completed commissions for the heraldic lions flanking the entrance to Norwich Town Hall and groups for the interior (1937); similar works for the entry to the British pavilion at the World's Fair (1939); figures for St John's College, Cambridge (1941). After the war he created a fountain and figure group for the Viscount Southwood memorial, St James's Church, Piccadilly (1947-9).
However, Hardiman had suffered significant personal reversals by this stage. In 1941 his house and one of the studios in Greville Road, St John's Wood was destroyed in a direct hit from a bomb. Not long after the war ended he was diagnosed with cancer and died at the house he and his family had sought refuge in from the bombing - Farthing Green, Church Lane, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire.
This entry includes information from Alfred Hardiman's file in the archives of the British School at Rome, supplemented by his entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by Sarah Crellin.
Wealth at death: £7,707 4s. 7d.
Probate date: 27 January 1950
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.
Resolution
1917 (Presumed)
£30
To Victory
1917 (Presumed)
£28
Head of Christ
1927
Jane
1927
Peace
1927
Mask of a Girl
1927
Study
1928
Entry into Jerusalem
1929
The Boxer, Bionye
1929
An Italian Peasant
1929
Garden fountain
1932
St George
1932
Dr C. W. Saleeby FRSE, Chairman of the Sunlight League, with the sculptor's daughter
1935
Two babies' heads
1935
Head of an Italian workman
1935
Peace
1938
Heraldic Lion
1938
Recreation
1938
Child education
1938
Dr Kamstra
1939
Sphinx
1939
Locations
Address 71 Kelvin Road Highbury London England | View on map
1901 (Circa) - 1916 (Circa)
Address 51 Ferme Park Road Stroud Green London N4 England | View on map
1917 (Circa) - 1926 (Circa)
Not continuously at this address because studied in Rome in the early 1920s
Address 36 Marlborough Hill St John's Wood London NW England | View on map
1927 (Presumed)
Address 38 Marlborough Hill St John's Wood London England | View on map
1927 - 1928
Address 37A Greville Road London NW6 England | View on map
1928 - 1949
In 1941 the house and one of the studios received a direct hit from a bomb, Hardiman and his family sought refuge in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire for the remainder of the war.
Address Farthing Green Church Lane Stoke Poges England | View on map
1941 - 1949
Hardiman and his family moved here after their house in Greville Road and one of the studios received a direct hit from a bomb in 1941.
Care of c/o Redfern Gallery 27 Old Bond Street London England | View on map
1925 - 1927
Worked at County Hall Westminster Bridge Road London England | View on map
1925 (Circa) - 1927 (Circa)
After Hardiman returned from Rome in 1924 he was commissioned to carve two figure groups for pavilions on the north end of County Hall, London. This continued a sculptural scheme awarded to Ernest Cole in 1915 but terminated in 1921 after disagreements with the architect, Ralph Knott. Hardiman completed four groups: recreation; town planning; child education; and care of the sick. The date of completion is uncertain and may have been as late as 1930. (Information from Hardiman's file at the British School at Rome and County Hall (1991), pp. 57-69)
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Competed at Competition for a statue of Field Marshall Lord Haig, London, 1929
1929
Won the commission.
Exhibited at The Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Third, 1929
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-First, 1927
'Jane'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Second, 1928
'Study'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Sixth, 1932
'St George'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, The One-Hundred-and-Ninth, 1935
Multiple works
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
Multiple works
Exhibited at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Sixty-Sixth Annual Exhibition, 1927
'Mask of a Girl'
Exhibited at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Seventy-Fourth Annual Exhibition, 1935
'Mask of a Girl'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1929
'The Boxer, Bionye'
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1915 - 1949
Exhibited 23 times, about 46 works in all
Exhibited at The Seventy-Second Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1917
1917
Exhibited at Palace of Arts Empire Exhibition Scotland, 1938
1938
Exhibited at Exhibition of Open Air Sculpture, Battersea Park (London County Council), 1948
1948
Selection committee member of Chantrey Bequest (Chantrey Fund; Royal Academy of Arts), 1875-1948
1937 - 1948
Served on the Recommending Committee in 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1947 and 1948 (Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1937', 1938, p. 23).
Selection committee member of The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundredth and Sixty-Ninth (Summer Exhibition), 1937
6 April 1937 - 15 April 1937
Served on the Selection Committee, and was responsible for the arrangement of sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1937' (1938), pp. 36-37.
Selection committee member of The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Seventy-Third (Summer Exhibition), 1941
9 April 1941 - 18 April 1941
Served on the Selection Committee, and was responsible for the arrangement of sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1941' (1942), p. 23.
Selection committee member of The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The One Hundred and Seventy-Seventh (Summer Exhibition), 1945
10 April 1945 - 21 April 1945
Served on the Selection Committee, and was responsible for the arrangement of sculpture. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1945' (1946), p. 22.
Speaker at Talk on Sculpture (Royal Society of British Sculptors), 1946
Won prize The British School at Rome Scholarship in Sculpture
1920
Hardiman received the first scholarship to be awarded after the First World War
Won prize Prize for the best work of sculpture exhibited in London
28 March 1929
Won the prize for his 'Haig Memorial in Whitehall'.
Won prize Prize for the best work of sculpture exhibited in London
1946
Won the prize for his Fountain Group for the Council Hall at Bristol, which had been exhibited at the Royal Academy. The Council noted that the work was 'particularly fine' and therefore awarded the medal in gold.
Institutional and Business Connections
Adjudicated on a panel at The Edinburgh College of Art
1946
For the award of Diplomas in ther Sculpture Dept.
Associate member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1923 - 1938 (Presumed)
Became fellow in 1938.
Committee member of The Royal Mint
1946
Served on the Royal Mint Committee of Medals and Seals.
Elected ARA Royal Academy of Arts
17 March 1936 - 15 February 1944
Elected RA in 1944.
Elected RA Royal Academy of Arts
15 February 1944 - 17 April 1949
Died in 1949. Hardiman's Diploma work was a bronze bust entitled 'Study of a Scientist'. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1944', (1945), p. 54.
Fellow of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1938 - 1949
Died in 1949.
Member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
25 January 1918 (Presumed) - 1949
Hardiman's application for membership was proposed by A. F. Hardiman and seconded by A. Drury. Died in 1949.
Member of council Royal Society of British Sculptors
1935 - 1947
Served as a member of the Council from 1935 to 1936, and from 1945
Member of council Royal Academy of Arts
1944 - 1945
Served as a Member of the Council from 1944 to 1945. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1944', (1945), p. 25.
Studied at Royal College of Art (including National Art Training School)
1914 (Circa) - 2 July 1915
Listed as a student at the College for six terms. Left the College in the 1914-1915 session to study at the Royal Academy: see 'Register of R. C. A. Students' (1907-1924), p. 96.
Studied at Royal Academy Schools
22 July 1915 - December 1920
Popp and Valentine give these dates in 'Royal Academy of Arts Directory of Membership', (1996), p. 56. Hardiman left the Royal College of Art in the 1914-1915 session to study at the Royal Academy: see also 'Register of R. C. A. Students' (1907-1924), p. 96.
Visitor at Royal Academy Schools
1947 - 1948
Listed as a visitor to the Sculpture School from 1947 to 1948. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1947', (1948), p. 29.
Personal and Professional Connections
Nominated by (Edward) Alfred Briscoe Drury
1918 (Presumed)
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Nominated by Charles Leonard Hartwell
1918 (Presumed)
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Nominated by George Clausen
1 November 1927
For RA.
Nominated by David Young Cameron
1 November 1927
For RA.
Nominated by Henry Poole
1 November 1927
For RA.
Nominated by George Henry
1 November 1927
For RA.
Nominated by William McMillan
1 November 1927 - March 1935
Two nominations for RA, in 1927 and 1935.
Nominated by Alfred Turner
1 November 1927
For RA.
Nominated by Henry George Rushbury
1 November 1927
For RA.
Nominated by Charles Shannon
1 November 1927
For RA.
Nominated by Robert Anning Bell
7 February 1930
For RA.
Nominated by Philip Connard
25 April 1930
For RA.
Nominated by Charles Leonard Hartwell
25 April 1930
For RA.
Nominated by Samuel John Lamorna Birch
March 1935
For RA.
Nominated by William Russell Flint
March 1935
For RA.
Nominated by Terrick Williams
March 1935
For RA.
Nominated by Walter Westley Russell
March 1935
For RA.
Nominated by Sydney Lee
March 1935
For RA.
Nominator of Julian Phelps Allan
For membership of the RSBS
Nominator of Alan Lydiat Durst
19 December 1935 - February 1951
Two nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], in 1935 and 1951.
Nominator of (Arthur) Eric Rowton Gill
15 March 1937
For RA.
Nominator of Leonard Jennings
22 April 1937
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of John Francis Kavanagh
22 April 1937
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of William James Bloye
1 March 1938 - February 1946
Two nominations for Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA], in 1938 and 1946, both unsuccessful.
Nominator of Dora Gordine
1938 (Presumed)
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Nominator of Charlotte Ellen Gibson
1939 (Presumed)
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Nominator of Loris Rey
1 May 1942
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Dora Gordine
21 January 1942
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA]; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Siegfried Joseph Charoux
April 1943
For Associate of the Royal Academy [ARA].
Nominator of Harold Wilson Parker
1943
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Nominator of George Victor Haywood
1945 (Presumed)
For membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Draughtsman' working for 'constructional engineers', his father, Alfred William, 'Silversmith small worker' worker at home
Sources
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Twentieth Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1929
November 1929
p. 71
Catalogue for the Seventy-Second Annual Exhibition of the Royal West of England Academy, 1917
1917
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
2004
RG10 piece 392 folio 54 page 21 (for information about his grandfather's occupation)
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2005
RG13 piece 201 folio 43 page 28
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2011
RG14PN982 RG78PN33 RD10 SD7 ED13 SN179
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2007
2007
Name: Alfred W Hardiman [presumed to be Alfred Frank's father]
Birth Date: abt 1865
Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1948
Age at Death: 83
Registration district: Wood Green
Inferred County: Middlesex
Volume: 5f
Page: 518
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Alfred William Hardiman [Alfred Frank's father]
Date of Registration: Oct-Nov-Dec 1865
Registration district: Clerkenwell
Inferred County: London
Volume: 1b
Page: 644
List of Members: Royal Society of British Sculptors
2008
London, England, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials 1538-1812
2010
Name: Alfred William Hardiman [Alfred Frank's father]
Record Type: Baptism
Estimated Birth Date: abt 1870
Baptism Date: 11 Sep 1870
Father's Name: Alfred James Hardiman
Mother's Name: Emma Jane Hardiman
Parish or Poor Law Union: Myddelton Square St Mark
Borough: Islington
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
2004
Sarah Crellin, ‘Hardiman, Alfred Frank (1891–1949)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33699, accessed 13 October 2008]
Palace of Arts
Empire Exhibition
Scotland
1938
The Fine Art Section of the Empire Exhibition
1938
Register of Royal College of Art Students, 1907-1924 Royal College of Art
1907
p. 96.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1927-1938
1938
p.144, p.149, p.221, p.234, p.241, p.247.
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, c.1939-c.1961
1961 (Circa)
p.82, p.104, p.139, p.149, p.157.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 2, 1913-1922
1922 (Presumed)
25 January 1918
Survey of London Monograph 17: County Hall
1991
'Architectural sculpture and decorative treatment', Survey of London Monograph 17: County Hall (1991), pp. 57-69. URL: http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=118182 Date accessed: 02 May 2011
The British School at Rome: one hundred years
2001
p. 210
The Times Digital Archive 1785-1985
2008
There are multiple references to Hardiman in the The Times including his obituary: The Times, Tuesday, Apr 19, 1949; pg. 6; Issue 51359; col E
Mr. Alfred Hardiman The Haig Memorial
Category: Obituaries
Citing this record
'Alfred Frank Hardiman RA, RS, FRBS', 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_1216985328, accessed 22 Sep 2023]
