Publication date: Tuesday 19th January 2010
Reading the Stones
The third lecture in the Glasgow and West of Scotland Branch "Reading the Stones" by Gary Nisbet.
Gary Nisbet was introduced by the Chairman, Bill Mann, as the researcher who has documented his claim that John Mossman should now be regarded as ‘The Father of Glasgow Sculpture.' With superb photographs, he proved the extent of Mossman's achievement from his first major civic commission (1839) to his retiral (1886), not just as a stonemason, but as a sculptor.
His sculpture is not merely decorative. His commissions show who was important then and now: James Watt, Robert Burns, Queen Victoria, Sir Robert Peel.
His prolific work shows the wealth of 19th century Glasgow coming from trade and industry in his sculptures for buildings, streets, public places and the Necropolis.
The lively questions drew attention to the quality of Mossman's sculpture - for example, in the agony of slavery in the bas-reliefs at the base of the David Livingstone memorial - and the conservation issues of his Glasgow heritage.
When Gary Nisbet put up on the screen pictures of early Mossman sculptures, there was a shock of recognition; when we saw the style of his early work and thought of William Blake's drawings and realised that they were nearly contemporaries, as the Secretary remarked on giving the vote of thanks.
Gary Nisbet's website illustrates the principal genres of Mossman's public sculpture: 1. Architectural, 2. Civic, 3. Funerary
