Martin Jennings | |
|---|---|
| Born | Martin Jennings (1957-07-31)31 July 1957 (age 67) Arundel,West Sussex, England |
| Occupation | Sculptor |
| Notable work | Effigy of KingCharles III for theRoyal Mint |
| Website | Official website |
Martin Jennings,FRSS (born 31 July 1957)[1][2] is a British sculptor who works in the figurative tradition, in bronze and stone.[3] Hisstatue of John Betjeman atSt Pancras railway station was unveiled in 2007[4] and the statue ofPhilip Larkin atHull Paragon Interchange station was presented in 2010. Hisstatue of Mary Seacole (2016), one of his largest works, stands in the grounds ofSt Thomas' Hospital in central London, looking over the Thames towards the Houses of Parliament.
On 30 September 2022 theRoyal Mint unveiled Jennings' design for the obverse face of the British coinage, for which he had modelled the effigy of KingCharles III. A crowned version of the same effigy was used for a special edition issue at the time of the coronation in May 2023. Coins using the effigy have Jennings' initials under the monarch's neck. A "digitally re-lit" version of the portrait has been used by Royal Mail for the new stamps bearing the image of Charles III,[5] the first time since the 1940s (and the George VI portrait byHumphrey Paget) where the same, unmodified effigy has featured on both coins and stamps.[6]
Jennings was born in 1957. In 1979 he received his honours degree in English Literature and Language at theUniversity of Oxford, after which he took aCity & Guilds course in Lettering (1979–80). From 1980 to 1983 he was apprenticed toRichard Kindersley for architectural lettering.[7]
Jennings created a bronze monument commemorating the pioneer plastic surgeon SirArchibald McIndoe which was unveiled in June 2014 in the High Street,East Grinstead. Jennings' own father, Michael Jennings, a tank commander badly injured nearEindhoven in 1944, was treated for burns by McIndoe's team during the war. The monument depicts McIndoe standing behind and resting his hands reassuringly on the shoulders of a seated airman, who has burned hands clawed together, and a scarred face turned to one side. The figures are encircled by a stone bench.[8]
Also in 2014, Jennings completed a bronze statue ofCharles Dickens, which was unveiled in Guildhall Square,Portsmouth, the city of the author's birth.[9]
In June 2016, two statues by Jennings were installed. The first paid tribute to the women who worked in the armaments industry during the Second World War and was sited in front of Sheffield's City Hall. ForWomen of Steel Jennings was given thePublic Monuments and Sculpture Association's 2017Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture.[10][11] The second commemoratedCrimean War nurseMary Seacole and was sited in front ofSt Thomas' Hospital in London. Both of these were unveiled at a time when the paucity of monuments to women across the country was being publicly discussed. The making of the Jennings statue was recorded in the ITV documentaryDavid Harewood: In the Shadow of Mary Seacole (2016)[12] along with her life story.
In November 2017, Jennings'statue of George Orwell was unveiled outsideBroadcasting House, headquarters of theBBC, in London.[13] This won Jennings a second Marsh award[11] – but alsoPrivate Eye's "Sir Hugh Casson Award" for 2017's ugliest new building [sic].[14]
Jennings'sculpture of thelife mask of the 21-year-oldJohn Keats was unveiled in Moorgate in the City of London in October 2024.[15]
TheNational Portrait Gallery in London has three portraits by Jennings;Edward Heath,Philip Pullman andLord Bingham.[16]A cast of his portrait bust of SirEdward Heath stands outside the House of Commons in The Palace of Westminster. His bronze portrait bust of HMQueen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is exhibited in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral. His maquette for a statue ofJohn Radcliffe is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
The National Portrait Gallery collection has a 2001 photographic portrait of Jennings byNorman McBeath.[17]
Jennings is based in theCotswolds, nearStroud.[18] He is a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Sculptors.[19]
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| Preceded by | Coins of the pound sterling Obverse designer 2022 | Succeeded by incumbent |
| International | |
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| National | |
