Francis Derwent Wood

Francis Derwent Wood
Francis Derwent Wood by George Washington Lambert.jpg
A 1906 portrait of Francis Derwent Wood by George Washington Lambert
Born(1871-10-15)15 October 1871
Died19 February 1926(1926-02-19) (aged 54)
London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationSculptor
Spouse(s)Florence Derwent Wood, née Florence Mary Schmidt (1873–1969)

Francis Derwent Wood RA (15 October 1871– 19 February 1926) was a British sculptor.

Biography

Early life

Wood was born at Keswick in Cumbria and studied in Germany and returned to London in 1887 to work under Édouard Lantéri and Sir Thomas Brock; he taught at the Glasgow School of Art from 1897 through to 1905. He produced a good deal of architectural sculpture typical of the time, including four large roof figures for the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, the British Linen Bank also in Glasgow, and the Britannic House in London for architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. Freestanding sculptures by him may also be seen in various galleries, such as his 1907 Atalanta (Manchester Art Gallery, with a bronze cast of it now in Chelsea Embankment Gardens),

World War One

Chalk drawing by William Rothenstein, inscribed 'To F Derwent Wood – Homage from W Rothenstein, 1921'

As he was too old (at 41) to enlist in the Army at the onset of World War I, Wood volunteered in the hospital wards and his exposure to the gruesome injuries inflicted by the new war's weapons eventually led him to open a special clinic: the Masks for Facial Disfigurement Department, located in the Third London General Hospital, Wandsworth. Instead of the rubber masks used conventionally, Wood constructed masks of thin metal, sculpted to match the portraits of the men in their pre-war normality. Just as had been happening with soldiers operated upon with the recent advances in plastic surgery, Wood's masks provided each with a renewed self-confidence, even self-respect, though they often proved uncomfortable. Face wounds were known to be the most devastating. By hiding the wounds behind the mask, the young men were able to return to relationships with their families and friends.

Each mask required many weeks of work on the part of Woods, and other surgeons who followed his lead. A plaster cast was taken of the subject's wounded face – but only after the wounds and subsequent surgeries had totally healed. The crude process was itself a trial. The plaster cast was used to make a squeeze of plastocene or clay. This disfigured bust was used as the foundation of all prosthetic restorative work, with the sculptor working to replace the missing components of the face with the shapes from the opposing side. The mask itself was made from a thin copper sheet – galvanized copper to facilitate painting after forming. Painting a realistic portrait onto the copper mask was as challenging as the sculpting: each was finished while the patient wore it, in order to most accurately match the tone of the flesh with the enamels.

The ward stayed open only two years, from 1917 to 1919. There is no record of the exact number of masks made, but it must have been several hundred: a tiny drop among the more than 20,000 wounded in the face. His earnest efforts may not have helped statistically, but they influenced the lives of those he helped dramatically.

Post-war

Wood was professor of sculpture at the Royal College of Art from 1918 through to 1923, with William Rothenstein as Principal.

He produced a representation of The Crucified Soldier called Canada's Golgotha in 1919, which caused a diplomatic flap between the Canadian and German governments. His Machine Gun Corps Memorial at Hyde Park Corner was also controversial.

He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1920.

Personal life

Wood married Florence Mary Schmidt (1873–1969) in early 1903. Wood died in London in 1926 at the age of fifty-five. His grave can be found at St Michael's Church, Amberley, West Sussex, with that of his wife.

Selected public works

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
Date Type Material Dimensions Designation Wikidata Notes
Music, Architecture, Painting and Sculpture Facade of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasow 1898 Four architectural sculptures Stone
Sir Titus Salt Has Plans (8387938946).jpg
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Sir Titus Salt Roberts Park, Saltaire, West Yorkshire 1903 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone Grade II Q26426353
Statue Of Charles Henry Wilson 20 Metres East Of Guildhall.jpg Charles Henry Wilson, 1st Baron Nunburnholme Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire c. 1907 Statue on pedestal Portland stone Grade II Q26584663
Statue of General Wolfe, Westerham-geograph.org-2007498.jpg
More images
General James Wolfe The Green, Westerham, Kent 1911 Statue on pedestal Bronze and Portland stone Grade II* Q17545629
George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon Spa Gardens, Ripon, Yorkshire 1912 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone Grade II Q26601856
Golgotha.jpg Canada's Golgotha Canadian War Museum, Ottawa 1918 Relief sculpture Bronze 0.8m tall
Australia Gate pier with boy, ram and shield.png Australia Gate Approach to Buckingham Palace, London 1920 Two statues on pillars Stone
Britannia DW.jpg
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Indian Water Carrier, Woman with baby, Britannia & Persian Scarf Dancer Britannic House, Finsbury Circus, London 1920 Architectural sculptures Stone Architect, Sir.E.L. Lutyens
St Mary's church - the war memorial - geograph.org.uk - 1406342.jpg War memorial St Mary's, Ditchingham, Norfolk 1920 Effigy & panels Bronze & black marble Grade I Q17537511
Bradford, Lister Park (39990500835).jpg Humanity overcoming War Cartwright Hall, Bradford 1921 Sculpture group Marble
Roycestatue.jpg Sir Henry Royce Riverside Gardens, Derby 1921 Statue on pedestal Bronze & stone Grade II Restored & relocated 1990
Liverpool Cotton Association War Memorial 2019.jpg
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Liverpool Cotton Association war memorial Exchange Flags, Walker House, Liverpool 1922 Statue Bronze Grade II Q66478442 Unveiled 1922, relocated 2011
Keswick war memorial.jpg
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War memorial Keswick, Cumbria 1922 Cenotaph with plaques Stone & bronze Grade II Q66477925
Machine Gun Corps.JPG
More images
Machine Gun Corps Memorial Hyde Park Corner, London 1925 Statue on pedestal with surround Bronze, marble & Portland stone Grade II* Q6723658
SirJohnInglisCryptStPaulsLondon.jpg Memorial to Major General Sir John Eardley Wilmot Inglis The Nelson Chamber, Crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, London Medallion & relief tablet Bronze & marble
Sculpture Of Atlanta-Chelsea.JPG Atalanta, Memorial to Derwent Wood Chelsea Embankment, London 1929 Statue Bronze Grade II After the marble original of 1909 held by Manchester Art Gallery

Other works

  • The Penitent Thief, 1918, bronze head of one of the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus Christ, held at Lady Lever Art Gallery, PortSunlight
  • Psyche, 1920, bronze, Regarded as a good example of the "New Sculpture" movement, located at the Lady Lever Art Gallery.
  • Derwent Wood modelled, 1897-1900, the figures of the Ship's Prow and Zephyrs which adorned the British Linen Company Bank building in Govan Road, Glasgow.


See also

  • Anna Coleman Ladd, another sculptor making masks for soldiers disfigured in World War I

This page was last updated at 2022-04-04 05:54 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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