Works by sculptor Elsie March, (Britain, 1883-1974)

Elsie March (3 October 1884 – 1974) was an English sculptor and one of eight artists in her family. She was born in Kingston upon Hull, England, and her father was employed as a seed crusher foreman (oil miller) in Yorkshire. The family had moved by 1901 to Battersea in London, where her father worked as a builder's clerk.

She was the seventh of nine children, eight of whom became artists. Three of them were sculptors, Sydney, Elsie, and Vernon. The other five artist siblings were Edward, Percival, Frederick, Dudley and Walter. The ninth sibling was her sister Eva Blenkin March. Both of their parents died in 1904.

Elsie March began her artistic training at the Battersea Polytechnic School of Art, where she studied painting and metalwork. She later went on to study sculpture at the Royal Academy Schools.

After completing her studies, she worked as a sculptor and metalworker. more... She exhibited her work at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of British Artists, and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours. She was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1932.

Elsie March is best known for her work on the National War Memorial of Canada in Ottawa. After the death of her brother Vernon, who was the lead sculptor on the project, Elsie and her other brothers helped to complete the work. Two of the bronze figures on the memorial are of servicewomen, which was unusual at the time. She was a skilled sculptor who was able to capture the human form with great accuracy and emotion.

Elsie March died in 1974 at the age of 90. She was the last surviving member of her generation less...