Sculptor who created city’s most famous statue dies, aged 90
THE ARTIST’S 1980 WORK OF RICHARD III HAS PRIDE OF PLACE CLOSE TO HIS TOMB
THE artist behind Leicester’s iconic King Richard III statue situated in the heart of the city has died.
Sculptor James Walter Butler, who was 90, was renowned for the piece, commissioned in 1980 by members of the Richard III Society.
It was unveiled on July 30 that year, by Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester.
While it was originally located at Castle Gardens, the statue was lifted off its plinth in 2014 to be refurbished and restored before it was moved to its current home in Cathe- dral Square, close to where the remains of Richard III were reinterred the following year.
James was also the sculptor behind The Leicester Seamstress, which was commissioned in 1990 and can be found in Hotel Street.
He also created The Burton Cooper statue, in Burton in 1977, and the 1996 Billy Wright footballer statue in Wolverhampton.
James was born in London in 1931 and attended Maidstone School of Art and Maidstone Grammar School, before going on to study art at St Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art.
In his younger days he was commissioned to work for Madame Tussauds, the famous waxwork gallery n London.
He was also the person behind the 2004 edition of the 50p piece, created to commemorate Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile barrier.
For 10 years he was a professional stone carver and taught sculpture and drawing at the City and Guilds of London Art School.
He was also visiting professor to the Royal Academy School in London.
James was first elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1964 and was a member of the Royal West of England Academy and fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors.
He worked on many private collections throughout the world and undertook numerous public commissions alongside those already mentioned. He designed the current version of the Great Seal of the Realm - a wax seal used to symbolise the sovereign’s approval of state documents. James was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours list.
He is survived by Angie and their four daughters, Rosie, Saskia, Candida and Aurelia, by a son, Tom, from a previous marriage to Janet, and by a daughter, Kate, from a third marriage, to Elizabeth.