Thomas Stirling Lee
Thomas Stirling Lee was an English sculptor, specialising in reliefs and portrait heads.Early life
Lee was born in Lambeth, London on 16 March 1857, the son of John Swanwick Lee, a surveyor. He was educated at Westminster School and then served as an apprentice in the studio of John Birnie Philip.
Lee studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1876–80, where he won both a Gold Medal and a Travelling Scholarship. In 1880–1881 he studied under Pierre-Jules Cavelier at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and then studied in Rome until 1883.Career
Lee's commission for 28 panels for the exterior of St George's Hall, Liverpool, resulting from an open competition held by Liverpool City Council in 1882, is regarded as his most important, but it was the subject of controversy, when the first two featured naked girls, depicting "the child Justice" and "the girl Justice". Lee only completed six of the 28 panels, but was subsequently commissioned to make two, and oversee all, of a further set of six on the theme of 'National Prosperity'.
He was a member of the National Portrait Society from 1910–1915, a member of the Chelsea Arts Club and a member of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers.
Lee died at St George's Hospital, Knightsbridge, London on 29 June 1916. His friends subscribed to a fund for a bronze panel on the family vault at New Southgate.Works
Lee's work includes:
