The ‘Son of the Man’ of Loos was sculpted by Sean Crampton after the Second World War to depict colleagues with whom he had served in the London Irish Rifles during the campaigns in North Africa and Italy.
Sean Crampton (15 March 1918 – 16 July 1999) was an artist of enormous achievement and inspiration. Having overcome adversity throughout his life, Sean produced outstanding and original artwork that is much sought-after and admired.
Sean Crampton was born in Manchester during the last year of the First World War and would study sculpture during the 1930s at Birmingham’s Central College of Art. He became a Professeur De Sculpture at the Anglo-French art centre in St John’s Wood, London in the 1940s.
Sean had seventeen one-man shows in London’s West End, and for more than 40 years was a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, including a five year period as President. He was a winner of the society’s Silver Medal and Otto Beit Medal, and was also a member of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Art Workers Guild.
A Note From Sean Crampton’s son, Dan:
“In his Guardian obituary, my father was described as ‘an artist forged by war’ and it is worthy of note that in winter 1944 he was being shipped back from Italy having lost his leg in an extraordinary act of bravery which with the 1st Battalion, London Irish Rifles during the early stages of the battles to the south of Rome near Monte Cassino.
He was already an artist when the Second World War started, sculpting before the war from the age of 12, and after the war he continued, often experimenting with different genres and mediums, though phosphor bronze became his favoured material for the finished piece. Producing some fantastic and fantastical sculptures and other art throughout the rest of his life, he was an important figure in the art world from the late 50s until his death in 1999.”
Tabletop Bronze People Sculpture – ‘Figures on the Wall’ by Sean Crampton