Jim Mathieson

Jim Mathieson

Sculptor searching for the essence of people, animals and plants

Val Bott
Thursday April 24, 2003

The Guardian

Jim Mathieson, who has died of cancer aged 71, was a sculptor whose most public monument was his lively sculpture of William Hogarth with his pug in Chiswick High Road, west London. Commissioned by the local community, it was unveiled by Ian Hislop and David Hockney in October 2001. Jim devoted huge energy to this project, researching his subject very thoroughly, coping - with some charm and only a little exasperation - with the late decision of the steering committee to add Hogarth's dog to the statue, and becoming a cheerful and exuberant "exhibit" with his maquette at fundraising events for the work. Though he was already ill during the three-year life of the project, his determination and enthusiasm ensured its success.

Born in Calcutta, he went to the Lawrence Royal Military School in the Simla Hills. The family left India in 1947, at the time of independence, and lived in both Arbroath, Scotland, and London. Jim did his national service in the intelligence section of the Gordon Highlanders. He worked in the insurance business, managing a small team, but he longed to pursue his passion for art. When his father refused him financial help to go to art school and he could not get a grant, Jim decided to become a psychotherapist and studied successfully at evening classes for his O- and A-levels.

Around 1960, he became involved in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, helping to set up the Bermondsey and Southwark branch and becoming its chairman. He joined the Committee of 100 (a direct action offshoot of CND, disowned by the wider movement), which led to his first arrest and imprisonment for three days before he was brought to trial. He also joined the Communist party. As his political activity grew, his studies ceased, and he did not go on to become a psychotherapist. He looked back on those days of struggle with pride, and his strong political convictions stayed with him throughout his life.

Jim married Edna Skinner in 1959. After the death of their baby daughter, Julia, in 1964, he decided to go to art school and, at 34, gained a place on a four-year course at City and Guilds Art School in Kennington, south London. Edna supported him and they had another daughter, Catherine, in 1966.

His love was sculpture, and while a student Jim gained a commission to cast the crown for the Prince of Wales's investiture at Caernarvon Castle in 1969. After he had completed the course, Jim and Edna split up, and were later divorced. In 1981, Jim married Judy Craig, also a sculptor, who went on to become the head of the portrait studio at Madame Tussaud's.

To supplement his income, Jim taught part-time, between 1969 and 1979, at the Sir John Cass and Ealing schools of art, where his enthusiasm, dedication and enormous energy inspired his students. His generosity in sharing his knowledge, from sculptural techniques and structure through to the intricacies of casting in all media, was much appreciated. From 1979, he worked full-time as a sculptor.

Jim wrote in January 2003 that his work was "an obsession done with a sense of love in creating something tangible. The satisfaction comes from making, as I do not actively try to sell it. Money is only of interest to me to pay for materials."

While he occasionally accepted portrait and figurative commissions and did some freelance work for Madame Tussaud's (including portraits of Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Prince Andrew and Darcey Bussell), Jim's focus and love was his abstract work. "I am basically a naturalist," he said, "who reduces human, animal and plant forms to arrive at an essence of an idea that transcends realism."

In these abstracts, he was attempting to capture the "essential qualities that express this miracle of life". Through the exploration of the sexuality of plant and animal forms, Jim tried to create a simplicity of structure that was none the less continuously evolving and changing. He was constantly excited by the endless possibilities of the variations in his work.

Jim is survived by his wife, his daughter, his stepson Scott and three grandchildren, Melissa, James and Anna.

· James William Mathieson, sculptor, born June 21 1931; died April 12 2003

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003

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