Frederick E. McWilliam HRUA RA (1909-1992) Box I Bronze, 20cm (8'') high Signed with initials and numbered 5/5 Provenance: The Gordon Gallery, Derry, 26th November 1990 ...

Frederick E. McWilliam HRUA RA (1909-1992) Box I Bronze, 20cm (8'') high Signed with initials and numbered 5/5 Provenance: The Gordon Gallery, Derry, 26th November 1990 where purchased by the current owner. (Copy of the original receipt available) Exhibited : ''F.E. Mc William'' Exhibition The Waddington Gallery , London 1971 ''F.E. Mc William Retrospective '' Anna take from below Cat. No. 87 ''F.E. Mc William'' Exhibition ,The Gordon Gallery, Derry 1984 Cat. No. 1 Literature:''F.E. Mc William Retrospective'' 1981 Illustrated P 67 ''The Sculpture of F.E. Mc William'' by Denise Ferran and Valerie Holman 2012 Cat. No. 350 Frederick Edward McWilliam was an incredibly diverse artist. McWilliam did not limit himself to any single approach or movement and his constant experimentation with media and style is characteristic of this exploratory attitude. McWilliam was at the centre of an interesting and talented group of British and Irish artists in the mid 20th century. He met Henry Moore through his friend George McCann while he was still a second-year student at the Slade School of Fine Art, and they became good friends. Parallels in subject matter and formal exploration can be traced throughout their careers and Moore was a role model and mentor of sorts to McWilliam. McWilliam made lasting friendships with other artists living and working in London at the same time. He shared a studio with John Luke while they were both students at the Slade, and his inner circle included Francis Bacon and William Scott. Throughout his career, McWilliam tended to work in series, exploring a theme in a succession of variations. Characteristic of his pre and post-war sculpture was his exploration of 'the complete fragment', the part standing for the whole, in works described by their titles including: Mandible (1938) and Eye, Nose and Cheek (1939; Tate Collection). His later Legs series, including Legs Static and Umbilicus, was a more playful excursion into the same territory. While much of his sculpture focuses on his own artistic concerns there is an element of social engagement running through it. A large part of his career was devoted to public sculpture and these significant works have made a lasting impact in their locations in universities and hospitals in particular. He taught sculpture at the Slade and exhibited all over the world, and although he left Banbridge in 1928, he never forgot his Irish connections. His sculptures are visually intriguing, expressive and imaginative. While often Surrealist in tone, they always retain an inherent humanity at their core. Mc William had been going through a mosaic period between 1967 - 69 after which in 1969 he started one of his most successful series of small bronzes of ''Girls'' . This he continued until he commenced his ''Women of Belfast'' Series in 1972. ''Box I '' is one of the earliest pieces in the ''Girls'' series and was completed in 1969. It and the rest of the series contrasts the highly polished external surface in which he has added incised fine lines to define the female form and in this case the finely modeled interior which seems dull in comparison. We thank Dr Denise Ferran whose writings on F. E. Mc William have formed the basis for this catalogue entry.

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