Sam Tonkiss 1909-1992

Samuel Tonkiss was born in Shropshire in 1909 and moved to Todmorden in West Yorkshire, where he worked as a journalist. In 1959 he began to sculpt a series of portrait busts, some of which were cat in small editions. This bust of L.S. Lowry was cast in 1975 by the Morris Singer Foundry in an edition of 36. An earlier head of Lowry, sculpted in 1971 is in the National Portrait Gallery. Tonkiss also sculpted the Duke of Edinburgh, Elgar, Barbirolli, Solti, Bertrand Russell, Kruschev and other notable people.

Click on pictures for large images and details