# Michael Sandle

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{{short description|British sculptor and artist (born 1936)}}
{{for|the American political philosopher|Michael Sandel}}
{{BLP sources|date=April 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}}
{{Infobox artist
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| name                      = Michael Sandle
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| birth_place               = [Weymouth, Dorset](/source/Weymouth%2C_Dorset), England
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| education                 = Douglas School of Art and Technology<br />Chester College of Art<br />[Slade School of Fine Art](/source/Slade_School_of_Fine_Art)
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'''Michael Sandle''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|RA}} (born 18 May 1936<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/michael-sandle-ra|title=Michael Sandle - Artist - Royal Academy of Arts|website=www.royalacademy.org.uk}}</ref>) is a British sculptor and artist. His works include several public sculptures, many relating to themes of war, death, or destruction.

==Early and private life==
Michael Sandle was born in [Weymouth, Dorset](/source/Weymouth%2C_Dorset). His father was serving in the [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy), and he was christened on [HMS ''Ark Royal''](/source/HMS_Ark_Royal_(91)).<ref>[http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/20133/war-sex-corruption-and-god.thtml Review of "The sculpture of Michael Sandle" The Spectator, 3 August 2002]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> His family's home in [Plymouth](/source/Plymouth) was bombed in the Second World War, and he grew up on the [Isle of Man](/source/Isle_of_Man), where his father had been stationed in 1942. From 1951 to 1954, he studied at [Douglas School of Art and Technology](/source/Douglas_School_of_Art_and_Technology) on the Isle of Man, and was then conscripted for two years' [National Service](/source/National_Service) in the [Royal Artillery](/source/Royal_Artillery).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/michael-sandle-1895|title=Michael Sandle born 1936|last=Tate|website=Tate}}</ref><ref>[http://www.sculpture.org.uk/biography/MichaelSandle/ Biography, Cass Sculpture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119081439/http://www.sculpture.org.uk/biography/MichaelSandle/ |date=19 November 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=108692|title=Term details|website=British Museum}}</ref>

==Art career==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=April 2021}}

After attending evening classes at [Chester College of Art](/source/Chester_College_of_Art), he studied printmaking in London at the [Slade School of Fine Art](/source/Slade_School_of_Fine_Art) from 1956 to 1959, where he was taught etching by [Anthony Gross](/source/Anthony_Gross), [Lynton Lamb](/source/Lynton_Lamb), and [Ceri Richards](/source/Ceri_Richards). He was also taught by [Andrew Forge](/source/Andrew_Forge), [Lucian Freud](/source/Lucian_Freud), and [Claude Rogers](/source/Claude_Rogers_(artist)). After travelling to Italy and Paris, Sandle taught at various British art schools in the 1960s. Originally a painter and draughtsman, in the 1960s, he gravitated towards sculpture.

From 1970 to 1973, Sandle lived in Canada, where he was a visiting associate professor at the [University of Calgary](/source/University_of_Calgary) until 1971 and at the [University of British Columbia](/source/University_of_British_Columbia) from 1971 to 1972. In 1973, he moved to Germany, and taught in [Pforzheim](/source/Pforzheim) and [Berlin](/source/Berlin). He became professor of sculpture at the [Akademie der Bildenden Künste](/source/Academy_of_Fine_Arts%2C_Karlsruhe) in [Karlsruhe](/source/Karlsruhe) in 1980. From 1976 to 1982, Sandle was a member of the faculty of engraving at the [British School in Rome](/source/British_School_in_Rome). In 1982, he was elected an Associate of the [Royal Academy](/source/Royal_Academy), and in 1989 a full academician. After moving to Devon, he returned to London in 2003.

===Works===
Two of Sandle's smaller sculptural works—described as "anti-memorial"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art-michael-sandle-tate-gallery-liverpool-1595663.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220514/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art-michael-sandle-tate-gallery-liverpool-1595663.html |archive-date=14 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Art: Michael Sandle Tate Gallery, Liverpool|date=11 August 1995|website=The Independent}}</ref>—are held by the [Tate Gallery](/source/Tate_Gallery): "A Twentieth Century Memorial" (1971–1978) (originally entitled "A Mickey-Mouse Machine-Gun Monument for Amerika") and one of the five casts of his work "Der Trommler" ("the drummer") (1985, cast 1987).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/sandle-a-twentieth-century-memorial-t06896|title='A Twentieth Century Memorial', Michael Sandle, 1971-8|last=Tate|website=Tate}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/sandle-der-trommler-t04941|title='Der Trommler', Michael Sandle, 1985, cast 1987|last=Tate|website=Tate}}</ref>

His public works include:
* a memorial (1985) to the victims of the [1982 Mannheim helicopter crash](/source/1982_Mannheim_helicopter_crash)
* a large bronze statue of ''St George and the Dragon'' (1987–88) for a public square in [Dorset Rise](/source/Dorset_Rise), London
* the [International Seafarers' Memorial](/source/International_Seafarers'_Memorial) (2001), outside the headquarters of the [International Maritime Organization](/source/International_Maritime_Organization) on the [Albert Embankment](/source/Albert_Embankment) in London
* decorative plaques for a new building, La Colomberie in [Saint Helier](/source/Saint_Helier), under the [Percent for Art](/source/Percent_for_Art) scheme
* the Siege Bell Memorial (1989–1993),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/Siege-Bell-memorial.426560|title = Siege Bell memorial| date=30 June 2012 }}</ref> at the entrance to the Grand Harbour in [Valletta](/source/Valletta), Malta, for which he was awarded the [Henry Hering Memorial Medal](/source/Henry_Hering_Memorial_Medal) by the US [National Sculpture Society](/source/National_Sculpture_Society). The Siege Bell Memorial includes a thirteen-tonne bronze bell, "Santa Maria", one of the largest ever forged, which rings for two minutes every midday.

Sandle also worked on an unrealised project for the [Battle of Britain Monument](/source/Battle_of_Britain_Monument) with [Theo Crosby](/source/Theo_Crosby) and [Pedro Guedes](/source/Pedro_Guedes) in 1987. The plans for the 500&nbsp;ft monument near [Surrey Docks](/source/Surrey_Docks) include a hollow pyramid containing laser-generated holograms and sounds recalling [the Blitz](/source/the_Blitz), topped by sculptures of a [Heinkel](/source/Heinkel) bomber and a [Spitfire](/source/Spitfire).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-professor-theo-crosby-1448941.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220514/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-professor-theo-crosby-1448941.html |archive-date=14 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Obituary: Professor Theo Crosby|date=15 September 1994|website=The Independent}}</ref>

He has exhibited at the 5th [Paris Biennale](/source/Paris_Biennale), the [Sao Paulo Biennial](/source/Sao_Paulo_Biennial), and the 4th and 6th [Documenta](/source/Documenta) in [Kassel](/source/Kassel). Examples of his work are held by the [Tate Gallery](/source/Tate_Gallery) in London, the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](/source/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art) in New York, the [Australian National Gallery](/source/Australian_National_Gallery) in Canberra, the [Hakone Museum](/source/Hakone_Museum) in [Hakone](/source/Hakone), Japan, and the [British Museum](/source/British_Museum).{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} A major retrospective of his work was held at the [Whitechapel Art Gallery](/source/Whitechapel_Art_Gallery) in 1988 and then at the [Wurttembergischer Kunstverein](/source/Wurttembergischer_Kunstverein) in Stuttgart in 1989.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

Sandle designed the [Belgrano Medal](/source/Belgrano_Medal) in 1986, which shows [Margaret Thatcher](/source/Margaret_Thatcher), with the inscription "Imperatrix Impudens" ("Shameless Empress").{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

He has been the recipient of a number of awards, including:
* Abbey Travel Award
* French State Scholarship
* [Rodin Grand Prize](/source/Rodin_Grand_Prize), Japan's most prestigious contemporary art award, in 1986, [Nobutaka Shikanai Prize](/source/Nobutaka_Shikanai_Prize), Japan
* Major Prize 7th International Sculpture Exhibition, Hungary
* DAAD Research Grant.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

He was a selector for [The Threadneedle Prize for painting and sculpture](/source/The_Threadneedle_Prize_for_painting_and_sculpture) in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://columbiathreadneedleprize.mallgalleries.org.uk/about-prize/selectors|title=The Selectors|date=1 June 2017|website=The Columbia Threadneedle Prize}}</ref>

Sandle was elected a member of the [Royal Academy](/source/Royal_Academy) in 1989, and became a Fellow of the [Royal Society of British Sculptors](/source/Royal_Society_of_British_Sculptors) in 1994. He resigned from the Royal Academy in 1997 in protest at the ''[Sensation](/source/Sensation_(exhibition))'' exhibition and the inclusion of [Marcus Harvey](/source/Marcus_Harvey)'s painting ''[Myra](/source/Myra_(painting))'', but rejoined in 2005.

He won the [Hugh Casson Drawing Prize](/source/Hugh_Casson_Drawing_Prize) for his Iraq Triptych, a drawing showing [Tony](/source/Tony_Blair) and [Cherie Blair](/source/Cherie_Blair) naked, exhibited at the [Royal Academy Summer Exhibition](/source/Royal_Academy_Summer_Exhibition) in 2007.<ref>[http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/ra-magazine/autumn-2007/academy/ Interview, RA Magazine, Autumn 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019161812/http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/ra-magazine/autumn-2007/academy/ |date=19 October 2011 }}</ref>

==Public commissions==
* 1981: "Sculpture for a Trades School", Mühlacker, Germany
* 1985: "Memorial to the Victims of a Helicopter Disaster", Mannheim, Germany (commemorating the victims killed when a US Army CH-47 crashed during the city's Aeronautical Days on 11 September 1982)
* 1986: "Belgrano Medal—a Medal of Dishonour", British Art Medallic Society<ref>[http://www.bams.org.uk/medal-detail.php?room=4&medal=37 Belgrano Medal&nbsp;– a Medal of Dishonour, British Art Medallic Society] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003123611/http://www.bams.org.uk/medal-detail.php?room=4&medal=37 |date=3 October 2011 }}</ref>
* 1988-92: Malta Siege Memorial, Grand Harbour, Valletta
* 1987: "Woman for Heidelberg", Kopf Klinik, Heidelberg, Germany
* 1988: ''St. George & the Dragon'', Blackfriars, London<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KiK0DbcUBIUC&pg=PA95 Public sculpture of the city of London, Volume 7 of Public sculpture of Britain], Philip Ward-Jackson, Liverpool University Press, 2003, {{ISBN|0-85323-977-0}}, p.95-97; 476-477.</ref>
* 1992: "St Margaret", The Pearl Assurance Head Offices, Peterborough
* 1997: "The Viking", Port Erin Arts Centre, Isle of Man
* 2001: International Maritime Organization Seafarers' Memorial, Albert Embankment, London<ref>[http://www.imo.org/newsroom/mainframe.asp?topic_id=68&doc_id=545 International Maritime Organization] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120903141230/http://www.imo.org/newsroom/mainframe.asp?topic_id=68&doc_id=545 |date=3 September 2012 }}</ref>
* 2002: Memorial to Lifeboatmen, Marine Gardens, Douglas, Isle of Man

==Awards==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=April 2021}}
* 1986: Nobutaka Shikanai prize, 1st Rodin Grand Prize Exhibition, Utsukushi-gahara Open Air Museum, Japan
* 1987: Prize winner in the 7th International Small Sculpture Exhibition, Budapest, Hungary
* 1989: Korn/Ferry Award, Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition
* 1995: [Henry Hering](/source/Henry_Hering) Memorial Medal (for Malta Siege Memorial) National Sculpture Society of America
* 2004–2006: Kenneth Armitage Fellowship
* 2007: Hugh Casson Drawing Prize, Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HeadquartersoftheInternationalMaritimeOrganisation.jpg|International Maritime Organization Seafarers' Memorial, Albert Embankment, London
File:Sculpture 'St.George & The Dragon'-Dorset Rise-London.jpg|''St George and the Dragon'', Dorset Rise, London
File:Monument to Sir William Hillary, Douglas Promenade - geograph.org.uk - 38406.jpg|Monument to [Sir William Hillary](/source/William_Hillary), Douglas Promenade, Isle of Man
File:Michael Sandle La Colomberie Saint Helier Jersey.jpg|La Colomberie, Saint Helier, Jersey
File:Malta 250915 Siege Bell War Memorial 01.jpg|Siege Bell War Memorial, Valletta, Malta
File:Muehlacker-Sandle 12 021.jpg|Environment, Georg-Kerschensteiner-Schule, Mühlacker, Germany
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Art UK bio}}
* [https://www.brookgallery.co.uk/artist.php?arid=311 Michael Sandle at Brook Gallery]
* [https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/michael-sandle-ra Michael Sandle at the Royal Academy]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandle, Michael}}
Category:1936 births
Category:Living people
Category:Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art
Category:Artists from Dorset
Category:Artists from Plymouth, Devon
Category:English sculptors
Category:English male sculptors
Category:People from Weymouth, Dorset
Category:Royal Academicians

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Sandle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sandle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Sandle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.