JONATHAN WYLDER - Biography

was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire in 1957. He held his first one man show of paintings in Salisbury City Library in 1973 where Sir Cecil Beaton was his first patron. He didn’t begin to sculpt until he was in his thirties and his sculpture has since achieved increasing critical and artistic acclaim and recognition both nationally and internationally.


Since the beginning, Jonathan has been inspired by the beauty of the human form, sculpting mainly in clay and then having it cast into bronze through the traditional lost wax process.
Jonathan is especially inspired by dance and has shown his appreciation for this subject in his sculptural work with dancers from a variety of ballet companies, including Fiona Chadwick, former principal with the Royal Ballet.


He has also created bronze equestrian sculptures and is a keen rider himself. He is particularly noted for his life sized bronze statue of Milton, the international show jumper, as ridden by John Whitaker.
He is further recognised for the prestigious commissions on which he has worked; most notably his creation of a five metre high bronze statue for London’s Belgrave Square, commissioned by the Duke of Westminster as a tribute to the first Marquis of Westminster.


Jonathan has also completed a life sized bronze portrait for the Scotsman Newspaper, unveiled in Edinburgh by the Her Majesty the Queen.


The Greek God, Atlas was the subject of life size portrait that stands over four metres in height, commissioned by Anton Bilton to celebrate the new millennium, which is now placed at Tyringham Hall.
Possibly his most moving creation is the life sized memorial portrait of Mother Teresa that was unveiled in Calcutta by the Governor of Calcutta at the Sisters of Mercy Convent, where it has received and continues to receive thousands of visitors.


Last year Jonathan worked with Sharron Davies, who inspired the creation of an eight foot long sculpture of a mermaid. A bronze version of this graces the Royal Yacht Squadron based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
His most recent completed project however is a life size portrait of Yasmin le Bon. The partnership of artist and muse has resulted in the creation of a work of art Jonathan considers to be his best to date.

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