Biography

James Butler was born in London in 1931 and lived most of his early life in Kent. Educated at Maidstone Grammar School and Maidstone School of Art, he then moved to London and studied for a further two years at St. Martin's School of Art and finally the Royal College of Art. He spent some ten years working as a professional stone carver and is responsible for many carvings that can be seen on buildings throughout London today, including the Queen Beasts in Kew Gardens.
He taught sculpture and drawing at the City and Guilds of London Art School and was a visiting tutor to the Royal Academy Schools.

James was first elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1964 and is a member of the Royal West of England Academy (R.W.A.) Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. (F.R.B.S.) and a Member of the Society of Portrait Sculptors.

In the early 1970's James Butler was commissioned to make a portrait statue of President Jomo Kenyatta. The majestic 12 foot seated figure in the centre of Nairobi was a turning point in his career. He gave up teaching and became a full time sculptor. The demand for public commissions has continued both here and abroad. His large monumental figurative sculpture, the winged figure of 'Daedalus' a Memorial to the Fleet Air Arm which stands in the Embankment Gardens in London and the Memorial to the Green Howards, a seated figure of a contemplative soldier, described as "one of the most moving war memorials of our time," the figure of Field Marshall Earl Alexander of Tunis in Wellington Barracks, are just a few examples of his love for the military hero.

In contrast to the towering figures he is so well known for, he has designed for the Royal Mint, the Royal Seal of the Realm, the Jubilee coin and the 50 pence piece, commemorating Roger Bannister's 4 minute mile. Again on a much smaller scale, he spends much of his time producing sculptures of children, dancers and female nudes. His wife and 5 daughters are often the source of his inspiration.

"....there is something that you've put into the figure that gives it a life that is other than your own and I think that is an extraordinary thing to be able to do. It's like a little bit of magic. The process is fascinating and I think that's what keeps me constantly working- you are constantly trying to magic something outside yourself......" quote by James Butler