Edgar Bertram Mackennal [commonly known as Bertram Mackennal; also known as Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal] was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 12 June 1863 and was the son of John Simpson MacKennal (1832-1901), a Scottish-born architectural modeller and sculptor. He initially trained as a sculptor with his father before entering the National Gallery School of Design in Melbourne in 1878 where he was taught by Oswald Rose Campbell (1820–1887). In 1882 he travelled to England to further his studies and briefly attended the Royal Academy Schools in London. He then went to Paris where he visited various ateliers. In 1886 Mackennal was appointed head of modelling and design at the Coalport Potteries, Shropshire. Mackennal exhibited at the Royal Academy in London for the first time in 1886.
In 1889 Mackennal won the award to decorate Parliament House in Melbourne and returned to Australia to carry out the work. Failing to receive sufficient commissions, he returned to Paris in 1891. Still short of commissions, he worked briefly as an assistant to the sculptor William Birnie Rhind in Edinburgh in 1893. Mackennal's fortunes changed following the success of work he exhibited at the RA in 1894 and 1895 which led to several private commissions.
In 1901 he went back to Melbourne to work on two commissions before returning to London. In 1907 his marble group, 'The Earth and the Elements', and in 1908 his sculpture 'Diana Wounded' were purchased by the Chantrey bequest for the Tate Gallery in London, and in 1908 he was commissioned to design the official medals for the Olympic Games in London. Two years later he designed the medal for the Coronation of George V, and was commissioned to design the tomb of King Edward VII for St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Other high-profile commissions followed, including the new coinage and postage stamps bearing the head of George V.
Later commissions included various statues of Edward VIII; the Parliamentary War Memorial for Westminster Hall, London; war memorials for Blackburn, Lancashire, Cliveden House, Buckinghamshire, Eton College, and the Caledonian Club, Belgravia, London; the Shakespeare Memorial for Shakespeare Place, Sydney (1926); and the Cenotaph at Martin Place, Sydney (1929)
Mackennal was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1909; an Honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy (HRSA) in 1920; and a Royal Academician in 1922. He was knighted for his services to art in 1921. He died at his home, Watcombe Hall in Watcombe, Torquay, Devon, on 10 October 1931.
Text source: Arts + Architecture Profiles from Art History Research net (AHRnet) https://www.arthistoryresearch.net/
