Laurence Broderick

Laurence Broderick
MRBS, FRSA
Laurence Broderick MRBS, FRSA
	Broderick with The Bull
Born	18 June 1935; Bristol, England
Died	18 April 2024 (aged 88); Waresley, Cambridgeshire, England
Nationality	British
Education	Bembridge School
Alma mater	Regent Street Polytechnic; Hammersmith School of Art;
Occupation	Sculptor

Laurence Broderick FRSA (18 June 1935 – 18 April 2024) was a British sculptor. His best known work is 'The Bull', a public sculpture erected in 2003 at the Bull Ring, Birmingham. The Bull is about 4.5 meters long, about 220 cm high and weighs about 6.5 tons. It is one of the largest bronze animal sculptures in the country. His work consists largely of figurative carvings in stone and editions in bronze.

Early life

Broderick was born in Bristol, in the west of England, on 18 June 1935, and attended Bembridge School on the Isle of Wight. He studied painting, illustration and sculpture under Ray Millard and Geoffrey Deeley at the Regent Street Polytechnic from 1952 to 1957, and with Sidney Harpley and Keith Godwin at the Hammersmith School of Art from 1964 to 1965.

Career

Broderick began his artistic career as an historical and educational illustrator and painter. He taught Art at the Haberdashers' Aske's School in Cricklewood from 1959 and Elstree from 1961, and was Director of Art there from 1965 to 1981. He continued working as a freelance artist and sculptor throughout this period and became a full-time sculptor in 1981.

Predominantly a stone carver, working with many types of stone including: Marble, Alabaster, Soapstone, Hopton Wood and Ancaster Limestone, he also modelled in clay, plasticine, plaster and wax for casting in bronze.

In 1983, he competed as part of the British snow sculpture team during The Quebec Winter Carnival. The team gained second place.

Broderick was a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

In 1978, Broderick visited the Isle of Skye with his young family where he saw his first wild otter. It was just off the Island of Ornsay, once owned by Gavin Maxwell, the Scottish naturalist and author best known for his work with otters. Skye became Broderick's second home and he held annual sculpture exhibitions on the island for 26 years. For many years he divided his time between his studios on Skye and Waresley near Cambridge, England.

Broderick was joint president of the International Otter Survival Fund, a charity dedicated to the conservation, protection and care of otters in the UK and around the world.