Alan Thornhill

Alan Thornhill (1921 – March 4, 2020[1][2]) was a British artist and sculptor whose long association with clay developed from pottery into sculpture.

His evolved methods of working enabled the dispensing of the sculptural armature to allow improvisation, whilst his portraiture challenges notions of normality through rigorous observation.

In 1958, frustrated by the repetition involved in making and selling pots, he started to gravitate towards claywork and sculpture through friendship with established sculptors Lynn Chadwick and Jack Greaves.

[13] 'Summoner' and 'Punch and Judy', two large bronze sculptures, are on permanent display in the Walled Garden of the Museum in the Park, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

[14] A 40-minute documentary, produced by his daughter Anna Thornhill, Spirit in Mass: Journey into Sculpture,[15] was released in 2008 with an award from Screen South and UK Film Council.

The bronze sculpture, Walking and Talking[19] and many of the files and papers relating to Thornhill's portraits were acquired in 2007 by the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, UK.