THE BELFAST BLOG

A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT

You are here: Home / Archives for 2014 Visit To Belfast,

2014 Visit To Belfast,

THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICA

BY ROWAN GILLESPIE PHOTOGRAPHED JUNE 2014

In front of the Titanic Belfast building is Titanica, a sculpture by Rowan Gillespie depicting a diving female figure. Made of bronze, it is mounted on a brass base, evoking the design of figureheads on ships’ prows, and is meant to represent hope and positivity. The figure was dedicated by representatives of the Anglican, Catholic, Methodist and Presbyterian churches on 27 March 2012, a few days before the opening of Titanic Belfast.

Rowan Fergus Meredith Gillespie is an Irish bronze casting sculptor of international renown. Born in Dublin to Irish parents, Gillespie spent his formative years in Cyprus. From conception to creation, he works alone in his purpose-built bronze casting foundry at Clonlea, in Blackrock

Encyclopedia Titanica is an online reference work containing extensive and constantly updated information on the RMS Titanic. The website, a nonprofit endeavor, is a database of passenger and crew biographies, deck plans, and articles submitted by historians or Titanic enthusiasts.

THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICA 007
THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICA 006
THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICA 005
THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICA 004
THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICA 003
THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICA 002
THIS SCULPTURE IS NAMED TITANICA 001

RECLINING FIGURE BY FREDERICK EDWARD MCWILLIAM

THE MAIN QUADRANGLE QUEENS UNIVERSITY 24 JUNE 2014

When I photographed this in June 2014 I was unable to locate any information relating to this sculpture but a few years I came across the following information:

This Reclining Figure by Frederick Edward McWilliam (1909-92) was relocated fromthe quadrangle at the David Keir building to the main Quadrangle at the Lanyon Building Queen’s University in 2013 and it took me five years to find any information relating to this interesting bronze sculpture.

Frederick Edward McWilliam CBE RA (30 April 1909 – 13 May 1992), was a Northern Irish surrealist sculptor, born in Banbridge, County Down. He worked chiefly in stone, wood and bronze.

Commissions included the Four Seasons Group for the Festival of Britain exhibition in 1951. McWilliam exhibited at Waddington Galleries, London, and had a major retrospective show at the Tate Gallery in 1989.

In 1964 he was awarded an Honorary D.Litt. from the Queen’s University Belfast. In 1966 he was awarded a C.B.E. and in 1971 he won the Oireachtas Gold Medal. McWilliam is represented in many public collections, including MOMA (New York) and Tate Britain.

The Queens University estate comprises more than 250 buildings, 98 of which are listed. The Lanyon Building, which opened in 1849 and is named after its architect Sir Charles Lanyon, is the centrepiece of the estate.

RECLINING FIGURE BY FREDERICK EDWARD MCWILLIAM 004
RECLINING FIGURE BY FREDERICK EDWARD MCWILLIAM 003
RECLINING FIGURE BY FREDERICK EDWARD MCWILLIAM 002
RECLINING FIGURE BY FREDERICK EDWARD MCWILLIAM 001

You will find links to buy products from Amazon, Google and other partners. If you click on these links, you’ll find that the URL includes a small extra piece of text which identifies that the click came from my websites. This text is an affiliate code, and it means that I get a small payment if you choose to buy that product. These affiliate links help pay the costs of producing my websites and ensure that the content is free to you.