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Born in Arensburg, Estonia, he studied engineering at Darmstadt
then joined his brother in Glasgow in 1912.
He continued his studies at Glasgow Royal Technical College,
1912-14, and, whilst working as a draughtsman at John Brown's
shipyard, he attended evening classes at GSA
.
He exhibited sculpture at the RGIFA
in 1917, became President
of the Society of Sculptors and Painters, Glasgow, 1920, and
established himself as a professional sculptor in 1923.
A protégé of architect John Keppie, and influenced by Rodin
and Epstein
, he executed many portrait busts in bronze, including one of
Keppie (1923), and the portrait medallion
to playwright O H Mavor
( James Bridie
) in the Citizen's Theatre, Glasgow (1956).
Representing some of his many commissions for architectural
sculpture are:
The figures of Painting and Sculpture on the
Mercat Building, Glasgow Cross (1928-9); the sculpture on the
Bank of Scotland, 235 Sauchiehall Street (1929-31) and on the
Stenhouse Building, 145 St Vincent Street (1931-2), which has
since had a large relief of a winged lion (identical to those
on the gateposts) removed from above its doorway.
His ideal, public and ecclesiastical work includes:
The Partick Camera Club Trophy (1925); the Keir Hardie
Monument, Old Cumnock (1939); Ex Terra, Glenrothes (1965);
The Psalmist, in the T J Honeyman Memorial Garden, Kelvingrove
Park (1972); and a number of Stations of the Cross for churches
by Jack Coia.
He succeeded
Archibald Dawson
as Head of Ceramics at GSA
,
1938-60.
Elected ARSA
, 1933, RSA
, 1937, he exhibited work throughout Britain
and internationally, and was appointed Her Majesty's Sculptor in Ordinary
for Scotland, 1963.
His other honours include an Hon. LL. D. from the University of Strathclyde
(formerly the Glasgow Royal Technical College) in 1969, and was accorded the Freedom
of the City of Glasgow in 1981.
Publishing his autobiography Bronze in my Blood The Memoirs of Benno
Schotz in 1981, he was the only Glasgow sculptor of note to do so.
His Moses the Sculptor (1949) was exhibited at the Glasgow
Garden Festival in 1988, as a posthumous tribute to him.
Sources:
-
Schotz 1981
;
- Honeyman & Keppie Job Books 1920-28;
- McEwan
;
- MacKay
;
-
McKenzie (1999)
;
- GH
[Obit], 12 October, 1984
- Glasgow Scrapbook [O H Mavor], no. 28, p. 67;
- West End News and Partick Advertiser, 16 November, 1973,
- [ibid], 29 March, 1974,
- [ibid], 12 July, 1974;
- Murray
.
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