Birmingham is a city of change and a city of hidden architectural gems. Look carefully and you can find fantastic Art Deco building everywhere.
William Bloye was Birmingham's unofficial civic sculptor. His work can be seen all over Birmingham adorning everything from Art Deco gems to Pubs and even a supermarket!
William James Bloye ARBSA (8 July 1890 – 6 June 1975)
William Bloye studied, and later, taught at the Birmingham School of Art (his training was interrupted by World War I, when he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps from 1915 to 1917. He also studied stone-carving and letter cutting under Eric Gill around 1921.
In 1925 he became a member of the Birmingham Civic Society, His studio was at 111, Golden Hillock Road, Small Heath, Birmingham where a blue plaque now marks the spot. As Birmingham's unofficial civic sculptor he worked on virtually all public commissions including libraries, hospitals and the University. He often carved bas-relief plaques, typically for public houses in Birmingham, and decorated a number of buildings by the architect Holland W. Hobbiss.
My exhibition celebrates these buildings and the sculpture of William Bloye.
William Bloye was Birmingham's unofficial civic sculptor. His work can be seen all over Birmingham adorning everything from Art Deco gems to Pubs and even a supermarket!
William James Bloye ARBSA (8 July 1890 – 6 June 1975)
William Bloye studied, and later, taught at the Birmingham School of Art (his training was interrupted by World War I, when he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps from 1915 to 1917. He also studied stone-carving and letter cutting under Eric Gill around 1921.
In 1925 he became a member of the Birmingham Civic Society, His studio was at 111, Golden Hillock Road, Small Heath, Birmingham where a blue plaque now marks the spot. As Birmingham's unofficial civic sculptor he worked on virtually all public commissions including libraries, hospitals and the University. He often carved bas-relief plaques, typically for public houses in Birmingham, and decorated a number of buildings by the architect Holland W. Hobbiss.
My exhibition celebrates these buildings and the sculpture of William Bloye.
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