George Skee

Born 1884
Died 22 May 1964

Active: 1901 - 1964

Country of birth: England

Country of death: United States

Sculptor, potter, shipwright, film maker

Born in Blyth, Northumberland. He was the son of Thomas Skee (born c.1861 in South Shields), joiner. At the age of twelve he became an apprentice shipwright with the Blyth Shipbuilding Company. In addition to developing his skill as a joiner Skee also took a part-time course in naval architecture at Newcastle. There he came to the attention of the second Viscount Ridley who commissioned him to make a carving of his father the first Viscount Ridley. It was from this model in wood that a brass head was cast which was erected on a plinth in Ridley Park (unveiled in 1909). The bust remained in the park for ninety-nine years until it was stolen in 2008.

Viscount Ridley was so impressed with Skee's skills that he sponsored him at the age of twenty-five to go to Barnstable in Devon and do an apprenticeship in practical potting. Upon Skee's return to Blyth, his sponsor leased him two and a half acres of land at South Newsham where deposits of pottery clay had been found. The pottery had to be closed soon after its opening because of the start of the Great War and Skee's departure into the armed forces.

He continued with his carving while on active service, for example by carving ivory cameos for officers wives. The ivory came from piano keys and billiard balls. After demobilization Skee was unable to restart the pottery in Blyth due to a lack of funds. A friend suggested he should take his talents to California, which he did alone leaving his family behind.

He started work at Hollywood Studios where black and white silent films were in production. Skee's first film, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' starring Lon Chaney Senior opened in 1923. For this film Skee made models of twenty-eight kings and queens for the interior of the mock cathedral. He also created miniature gargoyles, approximately the size of a finger nail, which were used in certain shots. Twelve months later his wife Martha and their children joined him in Los Angeles. Skee's biggest challenge came in 1925 with the filming of 'The Lost World' based on the book by Conan Doyle for which he was commissioned to make a sixty-foot skeleton of a prehistoric monster.

In later years Skee's film career took second place after he discovered a new glazing formula. He used this in the making of tiles and other ceramics at San Francisco and San Diego. From 1930 to 1950 Skee worked primarily as a pottery designer for several pottery companies and established a reputation in this field. In 2003 some of his pottery was exhibited in the Gene Autry museum in California. George Skee died at home in Ingleswood, Los Angeles on 22 May 1964 at the age of 80. His funeral was held three days later at Compton California.

This biography was submitted by Helen Brown and contains information assembled by her and her family.

Citing this record

'George Skee', 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=msib5_1238497701, accessed 24 Sep 2023]

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