William Bloye
William James Bloye was a British sculptor, active in Birmingham either side of World War II.
Life
He studied, and later, taught at the Birmingham School of Art, where his pupils included Gordon Herickx, Roy Kitchin, Raymond Mason, John Poole and Ian Walters. He also studied stone-carving and letter cutting under Eric Gill around 1921.In 1925 he became a member of the Birmingham Civic Society, having, at about that time, a studio at 111, Golden Hillock Road, Small Heath, Birmingham. As Birmingham's unofficial civic sculptor he worked on virtually all public commissions including libraries, hospitals and the University. He often carved bas-relief plaques, typically for public houses in Birmingham, and decorated a number of buildings by the architect Holland W. Hobbiss.
During the 1920s, he served on the Technical Committee of the Birmingham Civic Society.
He became a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors: associate in 1934, and fellow in 1938. He also won the latter's Otto Beit Medal. Retiring from the School of Art in 1956 he moved to Solihull. He died in Arezzo, Italy in 1975.
In December 2010, a blue plaque was unveiled at City College, on the site of his former studio.
As of January 2010, Birmingham City Council are working on the restoration Bloye's statue of Pan at Aston Hall. The statue's head is missing, and they have appealed for old photographs to assist in its reconstruction.
RBSA
Bloye was closely associated with the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. Although the two 1919 bronze plaques at the RBSA entrance are the earliest known work by Bloye in Birmingham, he only became a member in 1930. After a period as vice-president, he became president in 1948 and served in that role until 1950. He was also the RBSA's Professor of Sculpture from at least the mid-1940s until at least 1961.The Society's permanent collection includes one of his works, a life-size plaster bust, Head of Man. It is undated and not usually on display. The subject's name is not recorded.
Works
| Work | Location | Date | Picture | Coordinates | Notes |
| Brookvale Pub, sign with putto and grapes | Erdington | c. | Painted stone pub sign. | ||
| Huntsman and Dog, pub sign | The Green Man Pub, High Street, Harborne | c. | Painted wooden pub sign. | ||
| Library Emblem | Yardley Library, Yardley | ||||
| Apollo fountain | Coronation Gardens, Ednam Road, Dudley | Sculpture on top of fountain The model was international gymnast and basketball player Fred Starkey. The plaster models are in the collection of Birmingham Museums Trust. | |||
| Josiah Mason | Now at the junction of Chester Road & Orphanage Road in Erdington | Bronze bust, recast from a marble statue by Francis John Williamson of 1885, which stood opposite Mason Science College in Edmund Street | |||
| Engineering, bas-relief | Mechanical Engineering Building at the University of Birmingham | ||||
| Aesculapius | Medical School, University of Birmingham | ||||
| John Skirrow Wright | Birmingham Council House | Bronze bust cast from a marble statue by Francis John Williamson | |||
| St. Alphege | St. Alphege CofE Infants School, New Road, Solihull | Restored in 1994 | |||
| Mermaid fountain | University of Birmingham Guild of Students | Bronze | |||
| Mermaid | University of Birmingham Guild of Students | Clipsham stone sculpture, on wall | |||
| Decoration | The Mermaid, Sparkhill | c. | |||
| Bust of Wilfred Byng Kenrick | Byng Kenrick Grammar School For Girls | ||||
| Coat of Arms | Dental Hospital | c. | Fibreglass. Now removed. | ||
| Head of Man | Royal Birmingham Society of Artists | undated | Plaster | ||
| Sermon to the Birds | St Francis of Assisi's Church, Bournville | 1933 | Oak Wood. Part of Grade II listed building. | ||
| Ten panels in ceiling | Moseley School | undated | Plaster. | ||
| Sun and lettering | Sun Insurance Building, Bennetts Hill | 1927 | Stone bas-relief ). | ||
| Heraldic sculptures | Fountain Court, Steelhouse Lane | 1964 | Stone bas-relief. Statue of girl in private courtyard.. | ||
| Mother and Child, Young Child Playing | 90 Lancaster Street, Birmingham | c1935 | Stone bas-relief | ||
| Maternity | Carnegie Welfare Institute, Hunter's Road, Hockley | c1923-6 | Painted mahogany | ||
| The Good Shepherd and Latin Cross | Christ Church, Burney Lane, Ward End | c1935 | Stone bas-relief | ||
| Christ | All Saints church, Coneyford Road, Shard End | 1951–5 | Stone | ||
| Lion Pediment and Seated Craftsmen | Supreme Works, 186 Soho Hill, Handsworth | c1922 | Stone bas-relief.. |