David McFall R.A. (1919 - 1988)

Sculptor

Home Best Portrait Sculptor Chronology All Sculpture Royal Academy Exhibits Publications Drawing Painting David McFall Radio Interview Bronzes for sale Help needed Site search Contact us We also buy McFall work

1938/1 Head of a young girl


1944/1 A.E. Bolton Esq.

1944/2 Ellic Howe

1944/3 Olga Howe

1944/4 The Laughing Woman


1944/7 Victoria Marshall Littner


1945/1 Elizabeth


1945/2 Margot

1945/3 Silvia

1945/4 Head of an Old Man


1945/5 "The Blind Healer"

1946/1 Richard Ellis

1946/2 Frank Dent

1946/5 Portrait of an Artist's Model



1947/1 David Weston Esq.

1948/1 Jacob Mendelson Esq.


1949/3 portrait of Fru Astrid Ohnell


1949/4 "Posthumous Portrait"


1950/7 "Svea"

1953/2 Hugh J Taggart FRCS


1954/1 Mrs. Louis Rose

1954/3 Eliza

1954/6 Alderman Frank Sheppard

1954/9 Mariska

1955/1 Harley Granville-Barker

1955/5 Head of Elsa

1956/1 Lord Methuen A.R.A.

1956/4 "The Debutante"


1956/5 Turid

1956/6 Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams OM

1957/1 Madame Oda Slobodskaya

1957/8 Sir Francis Glyn K.C.M.G.


1958/2 The Rt Hon Sir Winston S Churchill KG OM CH MP

1958/5 Churchill. Small Head

1958/6 "The Chartwell Bust"


1959/2 W Godfrey Allen Esq. MA FSA FRIBA

1961/4 Muriel

1963/2 Patricia

1964/1 Lord Brabazon of Tara GBE MC PC

1964/5 Dr Bertrand Hallward


1964/7 Tessa Henderson

1964/8 William Henderson Esq.


1964/11 Rt Hon Earl Attlee KG OM CH

1966/3 Matthew White Ridley, 3rd Viscount Ridley

1966/5 Sir Steuart Wilson

1966/6 Rebecca

1967/1 A Finnish Industrialist

1968/2 Mrs Joan Muhtar


1968/3 Head of Bernadette

1969/1 F.C. Scott Esq

1970/3 Dr Charles Baker


1971/5 Mordechai Levene


1971/11 Sir Thomas Holmes Sellors



1971/13 Patricia Garrard



1972/1 Lady Holmes Sellors


1974/2 Sir George Godber


1974/3 Josiah Wedgwood


1974/4 Prof. Sir George Grenfell-Baines


1975/5 H R H The Prince of Wales

1977/4 HRH The Prince of Wales In the Dress Uniform of the Welsh Guards

1980/2 Head of Junko

1982/1 Inok Chun

1985/4 Susan Cohen

1987/2 Richard Collin

1987/4 Masoud R. Mehran


1987/7 Hugh Jolly

1988/7 Marina Moser (unfinished)














All rights reserved

1938/1 Head of a Young Girl  1944/1 A.E. Bolton 1944/2 Ellic Howe 1944/3 Olga Howe 1944/4 The Laughing Woman 1944/7 Victoria Marshall Littner 1945/1 Elizabeth 1945/2 Margot 1945/4 Head of an Old Man 1945/3 Silvia 1946/1 Richard Ellis 1946/2 Frank Dent 1946/3 The Fortune Teller 1947/1 David Weston Esq 1948/1 Jacob Mendelson Esq 1949/3 portrait of Fru Astrid Ohnell 1949/4 Posthumous Portrait 1950/7 Svea 1953/2 Hugh J Taggart FRCS 1954/1 Mrs. Louis Rose 1954/3 Eliza 1954/6 Alderman Frank Sheppard 1954/9 Mariska 1955/1 Harley Granville-Barker 1955/5 Elsa 1956/1 Lord Methuen A.R.A. 1956/4 The Debutante 1956/5 Turid 1956/6 Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams OM 1957/1 Madame Oda Slobodskaya 1957/8 Sir Francis Glyn K.C.M.G. Bust 1958/2 The Rt Hon Sir Winston S Churchill Rocquebrune 1958/6 The Chartwell Bust 1959/2 W Godfrey Allen Esq. MA FSA FRIBA 1961/4 Muriel 1963/2 Patricia 1964/1 Lord Brabazon of Tara GBE MC PC 1964/5 Dr Bertrand Hallward 1964/7 Tessa Henderson 1964/8 William Henderson 1966/5 Sir Steuart Wilson 1966/6 Rebecca 1967/1 A Finnish Industrialist 1968/2 Mrs Joan Muhtar 1968/3 Head of Bernadette 1969/1 F.C. Scott 1987/4 Masoud R. Mehran

“...I learnt the métier of ‘busting’ from Jacob Epstein – hence bustier in French, and always in bronze. In contrast to the slow contemplative process of stone carving, the bust is modelled at white heat before the sitter has time to get bored so as to animate the portrait with the nervosity of life.”


David McFall - 'Contemporary British Artists'


“Portrait sculpture is a highly nervous performance. And it really is a performance. Anticipating the arrival of a sitter I get very worked up if they’re 10 minutes late. The whole thing is a kind of challenge. And then there comes a moment in a sitting when the temperature rises, a certain warmth is struck up. When this happens you’re away, your performance is on. A portrait’s got to be achieved at high speed. You can’t allow a sitter to get bored or to dry up. You’ve got to keep the conversation going, you’ve got to touch some sympathetic spot. Working at speed, you tend to get the breath of life into a portrait without which it’s just a dead image. And the sitter nearly always has a taxi waiting at the door. There’s no time to fumble or change your mind. I take five sittings and the minimum for a sitting is an hour and a half, preferably two hours. If you go much over two hours they fall asleep or get restless or they want to look at what you’ve done. An hour is too little and two hours may be too much. And a sixth sitting is often a mistake. I remember when I had five sittings with Attlee, I said to him how about one more? And he took his pipe out of his mouth and said “Leave it”. He was right. And he knew nothing about sculpture. Most amateurs overwork. You see where they slaved at it and corrected it. To model well is extremely difficult. You have to be an out and out genius to model well. Epstein was, at his best. And of course Rodin – that American woman called the Duchesse de Choiseul. There are two of them – one’s smiling. That’s an astonishing accomplishment.”


David McFall – The Art of Portrait Sculpture

1964/11 Rt Hon Earl Attlee KG OM CH 1966/3 Matthew White Ridley 1945/5 "The Blind Healer"