Benno Schotz

Place: Arensburg

Born: 1891

Death: 1984

Biography:

Benno Schotz was an Estonian-born Scottish sculptor, and one of Scotland's leading artists during the twentieth century. He was born in Arensburg, Russia (now Kuressaare, Estonia) in 1891 and died in Glasgow, Scotland in 1984. He was the Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland from 1963 to 1984. He was educated in Estonia and Germany before moving to Glasgow in 1912. He studied engineering at the Glasgow Royal Technical College and worked as a draughtsman with a Clyde shipping firm. He started working as a sculptor in the early 1920s and had his first one-man exhibition in 1926. He became Scotland's leading portrait sculptor, known for his highly sensitive portrayal of individuality and his preference for quick, natural poses. His work is represented in numerous UK public collections including the Royal Scottish Academy and the National Galleries of Scotland.