James Butler RA

Born: 25 July 1931
Elected ARA: 24 April 1964
Elected RA: 15 June 1972
Category of Membership: Sculptor

James Butler RA, 'Rainbow Division Memorial'. Bronze. Photograph by John Bodkin. James Butler studied at Maidstone School of Art from 1948 to 1950, St Martin’s School of Art from 1950 to 1952 and subsequently at the Royal College of Art, London. After two years of National Service in the Royal Corps of Signals, he spent the following ten years as a professional stone carver, working on architectural sculptures such as the Queen’s Beasts at Kew Gardens and restoration work on the Albert Memorial. From 1960 to 1975, he taught drawing and sculpture at the City and Guilds of London Art School.

Butler’s work is very much commission based, his first major assignment being a twice life size statue of President Kenyatta of Kenya for the city of Nairobi in 1973. Following this, he gave up teaching in order to work on numerous public commissions and works for private collections throughout the world, ranging from monumental pieces to small-scale sculptures of dancers, children and female nudes. He cites the works of Rodin, Dalou, Degas, Jagger and Manzù as sources of inspiration.

He was elected a Royal Academician in 1972, a Member of the Royal West of England Academy in 1980 and Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1981. Butler lives and works in Warwickshire.

James Butler RA, 'Model Waiting'. Bronze. Major commissions
Portrait statue of Vincent Van Gogh
Portrait statue of Tom Paine
Portrait statue of William Blake
Portrait statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, commissioned by Felix Dennis for his garden of Heroes in Warwickshire
Memorial to the Rainbow Division, Fere en Tardenois, France
Twice life size portrait of statue of President Kenyatta, Nairobi, Kenya
Monument to Freedom Fighters of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
Portrait statue of Field Marshal
Earl Alexander of Tunis, Wellington Barracks, Bird Cage Walk, London
Memorial statue of King Richard III, Castle Gardens, Leicester
The Leicester Seamstress, Hotel Street, Leicester
Bronze sculpture, The Burton Cooper, Burton on Trent Portrait statue of Sir John Moore, and the attendant figures of Rifleman and Bugler, Sir John Moore Barracks, Winchester
Sculpture for National Guard Sports Stadium, Ryadh, Saudi Arabia
Anniversary Fountain — Dolphin Fountain, Dolphin Square, London
Cippico Fountain, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh
Portrait statue of John Wilkes, New Fetter Lane, London
Second casting — Portrait statue of John Wilkes, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
Bronze Sculpture, Skipping Girl, St Ann’s Road, Harrow
Portrait statue of James Greathead, Engineer, Cornhill, London
Memorial statue of Reg Harris,
World Cycling Champion, National Cycling Centre, Manchester
Fleet Air Arm Memorial, Embankment, London
Portrait bronze bust of Sir Nicholas Bacon, St Albans School, Hertfordshire
Portrait statue of Thomas Cook, London Road, Leicester
Portrait bronze bust of Sir Frank Whittle, RAF Club, Piccadilly, London
Portrait statue of Billy Wright, Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
D Day Memorial for the Green Howards, Crepon, Normandy
'Seagull' sculpture, Anchorpoint, Singapore
'Girl and Teddy Bear', KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore
Portrait statue of James Brindley, canal engineer, Canal Basin, Coventry
'Child and Whale', KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore
Life size figure of 'Ondine', Avalon, Pidemco Land, Singapore
Life size 'Reclining Figure', Avalon, Pidemco Land, Singapore
Life size 'Young Dancer', Avalon, Pidemco Land, Singapore
Life size portrait figure of Joanna Sitting on a Bench
Memorial Portrait statue of Duncan Edwards, Dudley, England
Memorial for Fleet Air Arm Daedalus, Thames Embankment, London
Sculpture tribute to Thunder Gulch, Kentucky Derby Winner
Royal Seal of the Realm, commissioned by The Royal Mint for HRH Queen Elizabeth II

Contact details for further information
Email membershipoffice@royalacademy.org.uk

• Royal Academy of Arts