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John Greenshields

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Scott Monument, Glasgow
The Glenfinnan Monument
Hamilton Palace

John Greenshields (28 September 1795 – 24 April 1835) was a talented but short-lived Scottish sculptor. His most notable works are probably the statue of Sir Walter Scott in Parliament House, Edinburgh,[1] The Scott Monument in Glasgow and the statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie on the Glenfinnan Monument. He also created a series of works depicting scenes from the works of Robert Burns.

Professor John Wilson referred to him as “an original genius” in his work Noctes Ambrosianae.[2]

Life

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He was born in Lesmahagow on 28 September 1795, the eldest of six sons (five surviving) to James Greenshields (1754-1838) a farmer,[3] and his wife, Betty Jack. In early life they moved to Willans, a cottage in Carluke[4] near Crossford, South Lanarkshire, and in Crossford Greenshields first became an apprentice masonic sculptor, under a Mr Cadzow.[5]

Around 1822 he went to Edinburgh to act as an assistant sculptor to Robert Forrest. Here he met Sir Walter Scott who became his artistic patron and friend.[6] Scott described Greenshields as a sensible, powerfully-minded person[7] and also there is much about that man that reminds me of Burns. During this period he lived in a cottage on the Milton estate of Scott's friend, William Lockhart.

From around 1829 he returned to work from Willans and Scott visited him there at least twice,[5] the second in the company of John Gibson Lockhart.

He died at Willans on 24 April 1835 and was buried in Lesmahagow churchyard.

Principal works

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References

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  1. ^ Parliament House, The Hidden Gem
  2. ^ rc. "CPHS Website".
  3. ^ The Kilmarnock Standard, 8 October 1932
  4. ^ "Lanarkshire OS Name Books, 1858–1861". Scotland's Places. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  5. ^ a b Webmaster, Tim Gardner -. "John Greenshields (1792-1835), sculptor, a biography".
  6. ^ "RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: Greenshields One Name Study and their Kin".
  7. ^ The Journal of Sir Walter Scott, 18 January 1829
  8. ^ "The Scottish American History Cl".
  9. ^ "About our Statue - Robert Burns Scottish Festival Camperdown, Victoria, 2015". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  10. ^ "The jolly beggars : a cantata. - National Library of Scotland".
  11. ^ Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, vol4