Tuesday 30 June 2015

MURRAY McCHEYNE- SCULPTOR-COMMISSIONS AND CASUALTIES


Although he had significant public commissions in his lifetime  Murray McCheyne was not one to push himself forward.The best known of these works, which still remain are the sea-horses on the Civic Centre in Newcastle. 

The  large.abstract sculpture on the side of Wellbar House, Newcastle was removed after severe storm damage in the 1980's.

 His family group for Shieldfield was totally destroyed  by vandals.The Laing Art Gallery has a maquette. The press accounts of the commission bring back memories of an earlier age of Civic Idealism.

Somewhere in the North-East he made one of the first play sculptures.

There was also a small relief sculpture on the primary school at Belford. That slightly biomorphic work is no longer in place.

I have no further information on the Stations of the Cross he made in plaster for the Catholic church at Lowick.

Some commisssions which should still survive include the altar  furniture he made for local churches in the north Newcastle area.

If you visit Newbiggin and the church is open you can certainly see McCheyne's small but monumental woodcarving of Christ the King.This dates from the 1950s.

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