Photographic view of
model for the ICI pavilion
at the 1938 Empire
Exhibition from the
Spence Glover and
Ferguson Collection.
SC806619

Detail of Bisland Crest for the Thistle Chapel, St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh. Graphite, chalk, paper, c.1950, from the Lorimer and Matthew Collection. SC800097

RCAHMS holds a small number of sketches for architectural sculpture. Such preparatory drawings would have been heavily used and passed around between offices. To their creators, they would not necessarily have been seen as something worth keeping. The following images are drawn from the collections of the Scottish Architects' Papers Preservation Project and highlight the rare occurrences where this documentary evidence has survived.

The exhibition begins in the 1890s with a set of carving studies by John Wittet. These studies reflect the importance that was placed on studying architectural sculpture in order to understand its technique and aesthetic as the basis of new design. Sculpture as an integral part of architectural design was not a new concept in the 1890s, but its significance to the arts and crafts movement and subsequently to Robert Lorimer is one of the reasons why a relatively large number of preparatory drawings for sculpture exist in the collections of Lorimer and Matthew and the architectural wood work firm Scott Morton and Co. who produced many of the carvings for Lorimer's commissions. This tradition is continued throughout the evolution of the Lorimer and Matthew practice as shown in the designs for the Bilsland Crest, Thistle Chapel which date from the 1950s.

As one might expect, sculpture features heavily in the domain of religious and memorial buildings; this genre is represented in the exhibition through the Scottish National War Memorial, the Thistle Chapel at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh and St Michael's RC Church, Kilmarnock. However religious and memorial buildings do not hold exclusively rights to sculpture and the works exhibited from the Regal Cinema, the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board power stations show it used in commercial and public buildings.

Album page showing fibrous plaster reliefs for the ICI pavilion at the 1938 Empire Exhibition from the Scott Morton Collection. SC806625

After the second world war, Scottish architects embraced sculpture as a way of humanising modernist buildings; Sir Basil Spence was keen to introduce sculpture to his projects such as at Hutchesontown C, Glasgow. Art's ability to increase a person's quality of living was considered an important aspect when designing social or public architecture. Sculpture as a means of engaging with the public and instilling a sense of pride in both the architecture and the nation was utilised by the architectural firm Shearer and Annand, when applying relief panels of Pictish motifs to the NSHEB power stations.

This exhibition does not attempt to chart the history of sculpture and architecture. Just as the relationship between the two arts did not begin in the 1890s, neither did it end in the 1950s. Financial constraints and changing fashions have meant that the level of money available to building projects for the likes of sculptural embellishment has diminished over recent decades, however partnerships between architect and sculptor continue today and successful examples of their work can be seen across Scotland. In 1995 the Scottish Sculpture Trust embarked on a project to address the relationship between architect and sculptor. 'The city as a work of art - Edinburgh and Glasgow' brought architects and sculptors together to work at creating viable bonds between the two professions. Other examples of sculpture from the period following that covered by the exhibition include the 'Wise and Foolish Virgins' bronze frieze by Gerald Laing on the Standard Life Assurance Building, George Street, Edinburgh, 1979, the statues of Mercury, Mercurius and Italia at the Italian Centre, Glasgow by Alexander Stoddart, 1989, 'The Pursuit of….' University of Strathcyde, Glasgow, by Shona Kinloch, 1996, and the three tableux in the foyer of City Park, Glasgow, formerly WD and HO Wills Tobacco Factory by Andy Scott, 2002.

The images in this exhibition were created for a purpose - to express three dimensions in two dimensions in order to instruct their execution. That they are also beautiful works of art is reflective of the quality and stature of the architect and sculptor.

Click on the images on the left to access each exhibition. The exhibitions show a small selection of the photographs and drawings which can be consulted in the public search room from Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm. Prints of all images can be obtained by contacting RCAHMS directly at info@rcahms.gov.uk quoting the name of the site or building, the SC number, the size and nature of each image required. A price list of services for photographs, digital images and other copies can be found under the price list page.