Portrait of Two Artists

Two dog sculptures - means two sculptors. Here is some information on the two:

Greyfriar's Bobby

William Brodie

(1815-81)

The son of a Banff shipmaster, and brother of sculptor Alexander Brodie, he worked as a plumber in Aberdeen before moving to Edinburgh in 1847 to study sculpture at the Trustee's School of Design, c. 1851-3, then studied in Rome under Laurence MacDonald. Returning to Edinburgh, he established a successful practice specialising in portrait busts, public monuments and architectural sculpture.

For Glasgow, he executed the statue of Thomas Graham, George Square (1871-2); a marble statue of John Graham Gilbert, Kelvingrove Art Gallery (1870); and the statue of the Young Scholar on the former Buchanan Institute, Greenhead Street (1873).

In 1872, he carved a statue of St. Andrew for the City of Glasgow Assurance Company, 28-36 Renfield Street, as a companion to G E Ewing 's St. Mungo, but these were lost in 1929 when the building was demolished.

In 1875, he was one of three sculptors invited to submit designs for Glasgow's David Livingstone Monument (for George Square). Although unsuccessful, his model is now displayed at the David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre.

His funerary monuments in the city include the John Graham Gilbert Monument, designed by Charles Heath Wilson and David Thomson, Necropolis (c. 1863); the bronze relief portrait of Rev. Duncan Macfarlan, Necropolis (1860); and the 71st Highland Light Infantry Memorial, Glasgow Cathedral (1863).

He also provided Edinburgh's cemeteries with some of their finest monuments and portrait reliefs and busts. These include the Classical mausoleum in Dean Cemetery for James Buchanan, the founder of the Buchanan Institution in Glasgow, for which Brodie carved the statue of the Young Scholar. For the mausoleum he produced a colossal bronze bust and a bronze door with a relief of a female mourner. Other works nearby are the monuments to the engineer Robert William Thomson, with a portrait medallion (1873), and the fine monument to the painter Sam Bough, which also features a huge portrait madallion (1878).

Amongst his other commissions for public sculpture are: the statue of Prince Albert, Perth (1864); the statue of Amy Robsart on the Scott Monument, Edinburgh (1881) and Greyfriars Bobby, Edinburgh (1872).

Exhibiting work at the RA , RSA and RGIFA , from 1847, including a bust of Queen Victoria for Balmoral (1868), he was elected ARSA , 1857, RA , 1859, and served as Secretary of the Scottish Academy, 1876-81.

Brodie died in Edinburgh on 30 October, 1881, and was buried in the city's Dean Cemetery.

San Diego's Bum
Jessica McCain

If variety is the spice of life, then Jessica McCain is a satisfied artist. The subjects that appeal to her are a broad range from still life to landscape to figures. Variety is not only apparent in the subjects she paints, but also in her technique. She is also equally adept at sculpting, and has done quite a few monumental size bronzes, some are in public art collections.

To look at one of Jessica McCains` paintings one can see a wintery painting that looks cold and desolate, sunshine that seems to burn hot, figures lonely, proud or shy are somehow mysteriously conveyed. Surface magic is done with the brush to manipulate color, edges, texture, line and shapes. These visual elements that create a dialogue between themselves is basically trickery with paint.

"For me, art is a personal communication between the artist and the viewer. Sometimes the message is badly transmitted; but then there are those moments when art is glorious in theme or composition or both, leading to something beyond the painting itself. The real essence of a painting is not the subject matter, my paintings are not about exact portrayal of detail. I use exaggeration where appropriate and take a lot of license. Intuition plays a big part in my paintings, I have learned to trust this, and recognize it`s significance, for often it is this intuition that is chasing that elusive mood that is essential for a successful painting. I have learned that technical skill must be mastered to transfer your aesthetic to canvas, but it is the emotion and intuition that go in to it that make the painting art."

Born in California, raised in Alaska, art has occupied McCain for most of her life. She was taught sculpting and painting by her father, and continued education at the Art Students League, Old Lyme Academy, and has ongoing lessons at the Scottsdale School of art. Education is an ongoing thing, and drawing classes are still part of her routine. Today she lives in Tucson Arizona and paints in her studio beside her home. When the summers are too hot, she takes off for California, for a milder climate.

Princes street Gardens, here we come!!

Apologies first. On a previous post I referred to East Princes street gardens as the site for the installation of the statue of San Diego’s dog. I should have said WEST Princes Street Gardens, and that is where the ceremony will take place.

We are now 99% certain that the event will take place on Saturday 19 July commencing 12 noon within the West Princes Street Gardens just inside the King’s Stables Road entrance. This area is undergoing considerable renovation, will be particularly attractive, and compliment the upgrading taking place in the Grassmarket.

A number of visitors from San Diego will be in attendance, including we hope Jessica McCain the Artist responsible for the statue.

We applied for the use of the Ross Bandstand in the gardens for the preliminaries leading up to the unveiling of the statue, unfortunately it is unavailable, but it is possible we may be able to hire a hall in St Cuthbert’s Church next door. That will probably be better especially in the event of inclement weather.

There are a few small details to work out, but the planning is moving along nicely. We plan on a splendid party for all concerned!

An Anniversary Worth Noting

Greyfriars Bobby celebrated an important anniversary on Sunday 4 May, 2008. The 150th anniversary of Bobby's master's death was celebrated in grand style here in Edinburgh. Events of the day included a Parade of Dogs from Edinburgh Castle esplanade across the George IV Bridge and to Greyfriars Kirkyard where a wreath was laid on Bobby's Grave. The Skye Terrier Club were the hosts and planners for the wonderful day, and they have a lovely write up of the day's activities here.

The Lord and Lady Provost of Edinburgh pose here with members of the Skye Terrier Club and an obliging pup in the bowl of Bobby's statue.

The weather was lovely and the gathered crowd jovial. It seems everybody loves dogs! For myself I had a wonderful time, meeting members of the club, looking at all the lovely dogs and handing out fliers about our event in July. We are very grateful to the club for allowing us to leaflet at their event. The Skye Terriers Club does a great deal of education and public awareness work towards the welfare of Skye Terriers. In addition, they run a rescue service helping to home and re-home dogs. Please do take a moment and visit their website.

The Skye Terrier Club has agreed to lead off our own Parade of Dogs in July, so we will be sure to look grand on the day!

We have found a home for our Hobo Dog

We have finally agreed on a site for San Diego's gift of a statue of their Town dog, Bum. We have submitted a planning application to the City of Edinburgh Council and all going well it will be installed on Saturday 19th July 2008 just inside East Princes Street Gardens close to the entrance at King 's Stables Road.

At present that particular area is being renovated by the City's Parks Department and when completed will be a very attractive walkway leading from the Gardens to the Grassmarket. The statue will rest in an alcove created by a little low walled garden adjoining the wall of St Cuthbert's Graveyard. It will without doubt enhance the setting and we are convinced it will become a visitor attraction.

We are now in the process of preparing a brochure and posters to advertise the event and raise the funds to enable us to have a Gala Day. Edinburgh is renowned as a dog loving city and we envisage a parade of dogs with Pipe and Jazz bands in attendance.

We understand that our friends from the San Diego Sister City Association will be accompanied by representation from their City Council. So it promises to be a great day, but we do need support both physical and financial. We estimate the costs to be in the region of £10.000/£15.000, therefore donations are urgently required and any surplus will be allocated to local Dog Aid Societies.

Statue Placement Site Update

Well the search for a site for Bum's statue took some interesting turns this week. We heard back from the National Museum of Scotland that we would be unable to use any of the sites attached to their building. Although this was disappointing, it was short lived, for a new and even better site has been found.

During Bobby's life time in Edinburgh his haunts ranged from the Candle Maker's Row, down through the bustling Grassmarket to the foot of the Castle cliffs. The Grassmarket area is currently undergoing a rennovation with an idea to encourage foot traffic through this amazing historic quarter filled with wide open spaces that accommodate regular open-air food markets, bric-a brac stalls and street sellers. Parades, open-air concerts and street performers during the buzz of the Edinburgh Festival add to the atmosphere.

From the far end of the Grassmarket, the King's Stables Road leads to the foot of the towering Castle Cliffs. The City is currently refitting this area to make the pedestrian transition from the Princes Street Gardens through to the Grassmarket more attractive and interesting.

Nestling between the Castle Cliffs and the St. Cuthbert's Kirkyard will be a landscaped area with flower beds and attractive paving. Here Bum would sit, marking one end of Bobby's territory, looking onto the dramatic vista of Castle and Cliff, and pointing the way through the Grassmarket to Bobby's statue at Greyfriars. Here is a schematic of the site:

I am taking meetings just now to get this finalised and will keep you all posted as to the progress.

In the meantime I'm sure you will agree that Bum couldn't possibly have a better view than this (once the construction fences are removed!):

The Search for a Site

Friends sometimes have difficulty making room for each other in their lives. The same can be true when one of those friends is a World Heritage City and the other is a wee statue of a beloved dog.

We here at The Edinburgh/San Diego Sister City Association are currently searching for a permanent site for the beautiful statue of San Diego's town dog, a beloved canine hobo called Bum.

In San Diego, the Association found the perfect home for the two dogs in the historic Gas Lamp Quarter. We here in Edinburgh are now challenged to find an equally fitting site that will honour the friendship of our two cities without compromising the heritage requirements of our ancient city.

It is our desire to place Bum as close as possible to Bobby's statue which resides on George IV Bridge in front of Greyfriars Kirkyard in order to emphasize the twinned links of our two cities and to repay the goodwill demonstrated towards Edinburgh by San Diego.

Here are a series of sites we are considering. Please make comments on your preference and give any suggestions you might have for Bum's placement.

Site Option 1: Bum on George IV Bridge close to the statue of Bobby.

Site Option 2: Bum in the alcove of the National Museum of Scotland

Site Option 3: outside the National Museum of Scotland at the junction of Chambers St and George IV Bridge

Nicholson Square is also in the consideration for sites, but as it is undergoing rennovation as we speak we are unable to present a photograph at this time.

Let us know what you think!

Two Dogs to Represent a Friendship Link

Edinburgh and San Diego became Sister Cities when they twinned in 1977, a very strong bond soon developed with children and adults exchanging visits with each other. When the Lord Provost Eleanor McLaughlin made an official visit to San Diego in 1989 she discovered the city had a dog in the late 1800s that was given the title of Town Dog as he was loved by all but had no master or mistress, similar to our own Greyfriars Bobby.

Alex Sandie, former Leither, John Wilson, Edinburgh Association President, Commander Donald Dinning Rtd. USN, Wendy Lucas Meyer, Co-ordinator, Chrissy Ambler, S.D. Association President, Jessica McCain , artist of Bum Statue

The Mayor of San Diego and our Lord provost determined the friendship link should extend to include the two dogs, and in 1990 the Chairman of our association at that time Mr Bob Watt, led a delegation to San Diego and presented the city with a replica of Bobby taken from the same mould.

Our friends and colleagues of our Sister Association reciprocated by having two statues of their Dog “Bum” crafted; one they have retained and on the 7th October 2007 both Bobby and Bum were permanently sited alongside each other in the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego’s Old Town area. The other one is being transported by air to Edinburgh to be ceremoniously installed, hopefully on the weekend of 18/19 July, 2008.

Obviously we would want both dogs to be situated close to each other but the pavement is considered too narrow at George IV Bridge, so we are considering sites alongside the National Museum of Scotland and Nicolson Square.

We would welcome support from anyone who would like to join us in this worthy exercise. We are also seeking donations to enable us to complete the task and any surplus will be donated to local Dog Aid Societies.

I can be contacted at 0780675178 or by email at johncwilson@yahoo.co.uk

John C Wilson. President Edinburgh/San Diego S.C. Assoc.