{{Short description|Scottish sculptor}} {{Use British English|date=March 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Thomas John Clapperton | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | birth_date = 14 October 1879 | birth_place = Galashiels, Scotland | death_date = {{death date and age|1962|2|15|1879|10|14|df=y}} | death_place = Upper Beeding, Sussex | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | residence = | education = | alma_mater = {{ubl|Glasgow School of Art|Kennington School of Art| Royal Academy Schools }} | known_for = Sculpture, public monuments | notable_works = | style = | movement = | spouse = | partner = | awards = | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | website = | module = }} '''Thomas John Clapperton''' FRBS (14 October 1879 – 15 February 1962) was a Scottish sculptor, famous for the statue of Robert the Bruce at the entrance of Edinburgh Castle erected in 1929.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.glasgowsculpture.com/pg_biography.php?sub=clapperton_tj|title=Thomas J Clapperton (1879–1962), sculptor, a biography|website=www.glasgowsculpture.com|access-date=2018-02-05}}</ref>
==Biography== Clapperton was born on 14 October 1879<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com/warmemscot-ftopic479.html|title=The Scottish Military Research Group – Commemorations Project :: View topic – Thomas J Clapperton|website=warmemscot.s4.bizhat.com|access-date=2018-02-05}}</ref> in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, the son of the photographer John William Clapperton.<ref name=":0" /> He studied at the Galashiels Mechanics Institute, then Glasgow School of Art from 1899 to 1901, then the Kennington School of Art in London and then the Royal Academy Schools in 1904 and 1905. In the latter he was student assistant to Sir Goscombe John. After further studies in Paris and Rome, he set up studios at Chelsea and St John's Wood, London, as a sculptor.<ref name="Minto">{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB51163|desc= Minto War Memorial|cat=B|access-date=3 July 2021}}</ref> thumb|Frieze at 208–222 Regent Street, London Although commissioned to design a monument to Mungo Park in Selkirk this was ultimately executed by the more experienced Andrew Currie. In the First World War he served in India.<ref name=":0" /> Clapperton's monuments are often of individual figures, rather than the large group war memorials of Goscombe John, under whom Clapperton had studied at the Royal Academy.<ref name="Minto"/> In collaboration with C. L. J. Doman, he produced in 1926 the large frieze representing ''Britannia with the Wealth of East and West'' on the front of Liberty's department store in Regent Street, London.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/cbcdf921.html|title=Friezes (ornamental bands)|website=The Courtauld Institute of Art|access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE |num=1227689 |desc= Libertys|access-date=12 December 2022}}</ref> His work overseas includes a war memorial in New Zealand, a sculpture in Canada and a fountain in California.<ref name=":0" />
In 1926, a bronze sculpture by Clapperton was commissioned by the mayor of Oamaru, Robert Milligan, for the Oamaru Botanic Gardens and was unveiled on 7 March 1927.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19270308.2.26 |title="Wonderland" A gift to the children of Oamaru |via=PapersPast |work=Otago Daily Times |issue=20042 |publication-date=1927-03-08 |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-08-10}}</ref> Milligan was inspired by Sir George Frampton's 1913 ''Peter Pan'' statue in London's Kensington Gardens<ref>{{cite web |title=Wonderland Statue (Oamaru, N.Z.) |url= https://natlib.govt.nz/records/40382654 |website=National Library of New Zealand |accessdate=24 January 2020}}</ref> and wanted a similar sculpture for Oamaru. Milligan was referred to Clapperton since he had been a pupil of Frampton's.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info/documents/0000/0000/1027/NZHistoric_Places_Nov_99_p25-8.pdf |website=Kete New Plymouth – Taranaki's online digital archive of current and historical local events, people, places and experiences |title=The Wonder of Childhood by John Wilson |publisher=Historic Places – November 1999 |accessdate=24 January 2020}}</ref> The sculpture is entitled 'Wonderland Statue' and was gifted by the mayor to his city. The work appears more ornate and intricate than the ''Peter Pan'' statue. It is reported that Harold Richmond so loved Clapperton's Wonderland Statue in the Oamaru Gardens as a child, that later as an adult he gifted two statues (sculpted by Cecil Thomas) to the Dunedin Botanic Garden.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statues and Structures |url= https://dunedinbotanicgarden.co.nz/collections/statues-and-structures |website=Dunedin Botanical Gardens |publisher=Dunedin Botanical Gardens |accessdate=24 January 2020}}</ref> One statue is of Peter Pan, and the other is of Wendy and her brothers.
Clapperton was elected a Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors in 1938.<ref name=":0" /> He died in Upper Beeding in Sussex on 15 February 1962.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thomas John Clapperton |url= https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/artists/423972 |publisher=RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History |access-date=23 March 2021}}</ref>
==Public works== {{Public art header|show_architect=no|show_material=yes|show_dimensions=yes|show_artist=no|show_owner=no|show_wikidata=yes}} {{Public art row | image = Detail on the Mungo Park Monument in Selkirk - geograph.org.uk - 564516.jpg | commonscat = Mungo Park Memorial, Selkirk | subject = Mungo Park | location = High Street, Selkirk, Scottish Borders | date = 1859, plaques 1905 | type = Plaques & supporting figures on monument | material = Bronze | dimensions = | designation = Category B | show_wikidata= yes | wikidata = Q17846790 | notes = Monument by Andrew Currie<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB40573|desc= High Street and Back Row, Mungo Park (monument)|cat=B|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Mitchell Library dome (3459300429).jpg | commonscat = | subject = ''Learning'' | location = Pinnacle of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow | date = 1909 | type = Statue | material = Bronze | dimensions = | designation = Category B | show_wikidata= | wikidata = Q1801309 | notes = <ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB33095|desc= 201 North Street, Kent Road, and Berkeley Street, Mitchell Library|cat=B|access-date=21 March 2021}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = The Fletcher Statue - geograph.org.uk - 550781.jpg | commonscat = Battle of Flodden Memorial, Selkirk | subject = ''Fletcher Statue'', Battle of Flodden Memorial | location = High Street, Selkirk, Scottish Borders | date = 1913 | type = Statue on pedestal | material = Bronze and granite | dimensions = | designation = Category B | show_wikidata= | wikidata = Q17846815 | notes = <ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB40574|desc= Scotts Place, Flodden Monument, ''Fletcher''|cat=B|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/76504 |title=War Memorials Register: Battle of Flodden|access-date= 22 March 2021|website= Imperial War Museum}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/550772|title=Geograph: The Fletcher Statue in Selkirk (C) Walter Baxter|website=www.geograph.org.uk|language=en|access-date=14 August 2019}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Learning by T. J. Clapperton, National Museum Cardiff.JPG | commonscat = | subject = ''Learning'', ''Shipping'' & ''Mining'' | location = National Museum Cardiff | date = 1914-15 | type = 3 Architectural sculptures | material = Stone | dimensions = | designation = | show_wikidata= | wikidata = | notes = <ref name="BritAssn">{{cite book|title=Handbook to Cardiff and Neighbourhood|year=1920|publisher=British Association|page=78|url=https://archive.org/download/handbooktocardif00brit/handbooktocardif00brit.pdf|editor=Hallett, Howard M.|access-date=30 May 2014}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Earlston War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 714104.jpg | commonscat = | subject = War memorial | location = Station Road, Earlston, Scottish Borders | date = 1921 | type = Celtic cross on monolith with plaques | material = Granite and bronze | dimensions = 4.5m high | designation = | show_wikidata= yes | wikidata = | notes = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/5654 |title=War Memorials Register: Earlston|access-date= 22 March 2021|website= Imperial War Museum}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Canonbie War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 1064970.jpg | commonscat = Canonbie War Memorial | subject = War memorial | location = Canonbie, Dumfries and Galloway | date = 1921 | type = Statue on pedestal | material = Bronze and granite | dimensions = 4.0m high | designation = Category C | show_wikidata= yes | wikidata = Q56614881 | notes = <ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/44100 |title=War Memorials Register: Canonbie|access-date= 22 March 2021|website= Imperial War Museum}}</ref><ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB3502|desc= Canonbie Village, Canonbie War Memorial|cat=C|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Galashiels War Memorial 02.JPG | commonscat = Reiver monument, Galashiels | subject = Border Reivers | location = Cornmill Square, Galashiels, Scottish Borders | date = 1925 | type = Equestrian statue on pedestal and steps | material = Bronze and stone | dimensions = | designation = Category B | show_wikidata= | wikidata = Q17853847 | notes = <ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB31978|desc= Cornmill Square, Equestrian statue of a Border Reiver|cat=B|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scotlandswar.co.uk/galashiels.html|title=Galashiels|website=www.scotlandswar.co.uk|access-date=14 August 2019}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Minto War Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 763756.jpg | commonscat = Minto war memorial | subject = War memorial | location = Parish Church, Minto, Scottish Borders | date = 1925 | type = Statue on pedestal with plaques | material = Bronze and stone | dimensions = | designation = Category B | show_wikidata= | wikidata = Q17844315 | notes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scotlandswar.co.uk/minto.html|title=Minto|website=www.scotlandswar.co.uk|access-date=14 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="Minto"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/44341 |title=War Memorials Register: Minto|access-date= 22 March 2021|website= Imperial War Museum}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = World War I Memorial Oamaru.jpg | commonscat = World War One Memorial, Oamaru | subject = War memorial | location = Oamaru, New Zealand | date = 1926 | type = Cenotaph with sculpture group | material = Stone and bronze | dimensions = | designation = Category II | show_wikidata= | wikidata = Q76908436 | notes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/2316|title=World War One Memorial {{!}} Heritage New Zealand|last=|first=|date=|website=www.heritage.org.nz|access-date=10 August 2019}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Oamaru 020.jpg | commonscat = Wonderland Statue | subject = ''Wonderland'' / Peter Pan | location = Public Gardens, Oamaru, New Zealand | date = 1926 | type = Sculpture group | material = Bronze | dimensions = | designation = Category II | show_wikidata= | wikidata = Q66360690 | notes = <ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/7149|title=Wonderland Statue {{!}} Heritage New Zealand|date=|website=www.heritage.org.nz|access-date=10 August 2019}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Robert Bruce statue.JPG | commonscat = Statue of Robert the Bruce, Edinburgh Castle | subject = Robert the Bruce | location = The Gatehouse, Edinburgh Castle | date = 1929 | type = Statue in niche | material = Bronze | dimensions = | designation = | show_wikidata= | wikidata = | notes = }} {{Public art row | image = The James Buchan Brown Memorial in Selkirk - geograph.org.uk - 774723.jpg | commonscat = | subject = James Buchan Brown known as J. B. Selkirk | location = Selkirk, Scottish Borders | date = 1931 | type = Plaque | material = Bronze | dimensions = | designation = Category C | show_wikidata= | wikidata = Q77771284 | notes = <ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB43810|desc= Scotts Place, Plaque to JB Selkirk (James Brown)|cat=C|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Galashiels Monument to Sir Walter Scott 02.JPG | commonscat = Bust of Sir Walter Scott, Galashiels | subject = Walter Scott | location = Cornmill Square, Galashiels, Scottish Borders | date = 1932 | type = Bust on pedestal with plaque | material = Bronze and granite | dimensions = | designation = Category C | show_wikidata= yes | wikidata = Q56633764 | notes = <ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB31980|desc= Cornmill Square, Monument to Sir Walter Scott|cat=C|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = Jimmie Guthrie memorial - geograph.org.uk - 1197908.jpg | commonscat = Jimmie Guthrie Memorial | subject = Jimmie Guthrie | location = Walton Lodge Park, Hawick, Scottish Borders | date = 1939 | type = Statue on pedestal | material = Bronze and stone | dimensions = | designation = | show_wikidata= yes | wikidata = | notes = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/jimmie-guthrie-18971937-284075/search/actor:clapperton-thomas-john-18791962/page/1/view_as/grid|title=Jimmie Guthrie (1897–1937)|website=Art UK|accessdate=21 March 2021}}</ref> }} {{Public art row | image = | commonscat = | subject = Memorial to the 49th West Riding Reconnaissance | location = Wakefield Cathedral | date = 1947 | type = | material = | dimensions = | designation = | show_wikidata= | wikidata = | notes = <ref name=":0" /> }} {{Public art row | image = Bronze by Thomas J Clapperton, Glasgow Green.jpg | commonscat = | subject = ''Springtime'' or Peter Pan | location = Glasgow Green, Glasgow | date = 1949 | type = Sculpture | material = Bronze | dimensions = | designation = | show_wikidata= | wikidata = | notes = <ref name=":0" /> }} {{End}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Thomas John Clapperton}} * {{Art UK bio}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clapperton, Thomas}} Category:1879 births Category:1962 deaths Category:20th-century Scottish male artists Category:20th-century Scottish sculptors Category:Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Category:Fellows of the Royal British Society of Sculptors Category:People from Galashiels Category:People from Upper Beeding Category:Scottish male sculptors