William McMillan RA (1887 - 1977)

RA Collection: People and Organisations

McMillan was born in Aberdeen in 1887 and trained as a sculptor in his hometown and in London (at the Royal College of Art). He attained a significant reputation at an early age, first exhibiting at the RA Summer Exhibition in 1917, and every year thereafter (with one exception) until 1971. McMillan’s prominence as an RA exhibitor helped him to become an Academician in 1925, at the unusually young age of 38. This position was followed by full membership of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1932. McMillan also had a considerable reputation as a teacher and held the position of master of the sculpture school at the RA between 1929 and 1940.

McMillan had no involvement with the modernist ideas so influential on the work of contemporaries such as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. He was a skilful carver in wood and stone but his versatility and status as a prominent figurative sculptor drew him increasingly into the realm of public sculpture. McMillan proved well-equipped for the challenges of producing statues of public figures, memorials, and other important commissions, many of which can be seen in prominent sites such as Trafalgar Square in London. His statues include the statue of JMW Turner which he was commissioned to make by the RA in 1935.