Professor Alfred Horace Gerrard

Born 7 May 1899
Died 13 June 1998

Active: 1925 - 1968

Country of birth and death: England

Sculptor, teacher of sculpture

Born in Hartford, Cheshire. He was a direct descendant of John Gerard, author of the herbal published in 1597. Alfred Gerrard studied at Northwich Technical School until 1916 and then saw active service with the Cameron Highlanders, Black Watch, Gordon Highlanders and Royal Flying Corps. After demobilization c.1919, he attended Manchester School of Art and then the Slade from about 1920. In 1925 Henry Tonks appointed Gerrard as head of sculpture at the Slade, and he remained there (apart from war service) until 1968, becoming professor in 1949. He married the painter, Katherine Leigh-Pemberton in 1933.

Over Gerrard's long career he created portrait busts, major carved sculptures, paintings and wood engravings. His most publicised work was the North Wind carving, on the Underground Railway offices at 55 Broadway, Westminster, c.1928. During the Second World War, Gerrard worked in camouflage until 1942 when he was discharged after being injured in a plane crash. In 1950 he travelled to Nigeria as a visiting professor, serving in a similar role at Bristol, Reading, Corsham Court, Camberwell and Oxford. Gerrard's own work continued, often on a large scale. A major work was a sculptured wall 'The Dance', which was exhibited in Battersea Park in 1960 and awarded a silver medal by the Royal Society of British Sculptors. In 1978 the South London Art Gallery held a retrospective exhibition with a catalogue that included an introduction by his friend and Slade colleague, F.E. McWilliam. He died at Leyswood, East Sussex.

This entry includes information submitted by Karen Gerrard and from David Buckman 'A.H. Gerrard: Obituary', 'The Independent', Tuesday, 30 June 1998, http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-a-h-gerrard-1168530.html, accessed 25 October 2009

Citing this record

'Professor Alfred Horace Gerrard', 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=msib4_1253544528, accessed 22 Mar 2023]