Tag Archives: Sculptures in Public Collections

St. Francis

St. Francis

Granite: 5x11x3ft. 6.00 tons.  Sold.  Location:  National Trust for Scotland Threave Garden, Dumfries and Galloway.

After being on loan to the NTS for three years St. Francis will now be staying on at Threave due to the generosity of long term NTS members George and Sue Thomas.

This emotive work depicts St. Francis lying in retreat on “that rugged rock twixt Tiber and Arno” as Dante described La Verna. The sculpture shows the saint surrounded by the birds that he loved and preached to. Brother Wolf is carved on the other side of the stone. Legend has it that St. Francis saved the village of Gubbio from being ravished of its flocks by persuading the people to feed the fierce hungry wolf. In return for this kindness the wolf became a friend to everyone and a follower of St. Francis and thereafter called Brother Wolf.

It has been written that on this mountainside St. Francis took on the stigmata – the wounds of Christ. In the sculpture Rae has given Brother Wolf the stigmata. Legend also says that when St. Francis died Brother Wolf was at his side.

The St. Francis stone from Tillyfourie in Aberdeenshire is of great geological interest being a mix of pink and silver-grey granite and dark grey basalt which fused together when the earth was formed. For this stone that happened 470 million years ago!

To see a short video of St. Francis being installed go to LATEST NEWS ON VIDEO at right margin and scroll down to Ronald Rae’s St. Francis sculpture moves to Threave Garden.

Cramond Fish

Granite 7 x 10 x 6ft 8.00 tonnes Location: Cramond Waterfront. Sold.

The Cramond Fish

A local community fundraising campaign resulted in the purchase of the Cramond Fish in April 2009 – a heartwarming experience for the sculptor who spent twenty years carving his sculptures in the grounds of Cramond Kirk. The Fish is now a landmark and looks as if it has been on the beach forever. It has been described as a wonderful evocation of the sea and marine life. It is also the earliest symbol of Christianity.

To see a short video of Ronald Rae talking about this sculpture go to Latest News on Video on the right margin and click on Ronald Rae visits his Cramond Fish.

Golgotha Madonna

Granite:5x4x3ft 3.00 tons. Location: Rozelle Park, Ayr. Sold.

Golgotha Madonna

One of five sculptures portraying the Tragic Sacrifice of Christ. The granite blocks for four of these sculptures once formed part of the Old Harbour wall in Ayr. Carved in deep relief this work shows the Madonna in anguish at the Cross. A metal bolt embedded at one side of the stone is symbolic of her pain.

The project was sponsored by Kyle and Carrick District Council and unveiled on 6th December 1979 by George Younger, then Secretary of State for Scotland.

To see a short video about this sculpture go to Latest News on the right hand column of this page and click on Ronald Rae visits his earliest sculptures at Rozelle Park Ayr.

The Deposition – The Tragic Sacrifice of Christ

Granite:5x4x2ft 3.00 tons. Location: Rozelle Park, Ayr. Sold.

The Deposition – The Tragic Sacrifice of Christ

One of five sculptures portraying the Tragic Sacrifice of Christ, the centrepiece of which is this deep relief of the Deposition of Christ – Christ being taken down from the cross.

The deposition is a complex work which Rae began at the age of eighteen and partly carved during his time at Edinburgh College of Art when he was influenced both by Michelangelo and cubist forms. He finished the piece twelve years later at Rozelle Park, Ayr.

The granite for this sculpture came from Kirkmabreck Quarry in Creetown.

To see a short video about this sculpture go to Latest News on Video on the right hand column of this page and click on Ronald Rae visits his earliest sculptures at Rozelle Park Ayr.

Edessa Messiah

Granite:5x4x3ft 3.00 tons. Location: Rozelle Park, Ayr. Sold.

Edessa Messiah

One of five sculptures portraying the Tragic Sacrifice of Christ. This sculpture was based on the Turin Shroud which was found in the city of Edessa in 544 AD believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth.

The granite blocks for four of these sculptures once formed part of the Old Harbour wall in Ayr. The project was funded by Kyle and Carrick District Council and opened in 1979 by George Younger then Secretary of State for Scotland.

To see a short video about this sculpture go to Latest News on Video on the right hand column of this page and click on Ronald Rae visits his earliest sculptures at Rozelle Park Ayr.

The Scourging of Christ

Granite:5x4x3ft 3.00 tons. Location: Rozelle Park, Ayr. Sold.

The Scourging of Christ

One of five sculptures portraying the Tragic Sacrifice of Christ. This sad work depicts Christ’s acceptance of being beaten on the way to the Cross. The other side of sculpture shows his naked torso.

The granite blocks for four of these sculptures once formed part of the Old Harbour wall in Ayr. The project was funded by Kyle and Carrick District Council.

To see a short video about this sculpture go to Latest News on Video on the right hand column of this page and click on Ronald Rae visits his earliest sculptures at Rozelle Park Ayr.

Fallen Christ

Granite: 5x8x7ft 7.00 tons. Location: Island of Iona. Gifted.

Fallen Christ

Carved in pink and grey Kemnay granite this powerful work portrays the Fallen Christ on the road to Calvary with the burden of the world on his back. His arm becomes the vertical part of the cross with the heavy beam on which are carved the letters I.N.R.I. – Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

This sculpture is appropriately sited outside the MacLeod Centre on Iona, the island of pilgrimage on the west coast of Scotland where St. Columba landed from Ireland in AD563.

The sculpture is dedicated to the memory of Jim Hughes who was an active member of the Iona Community and friend of the sculptor. Margaret, Jim’s wife who features in the video below sadly died last year her ashes being scattered round the sculpture as Jim’s had been too.

To see a short video about this sculpture go to Latest News on Video at the right hand column of this page and click on Ronald Rae visits his Fallen Christ sculpture on Iona.

The Fallen Christ has inspired many poems – Child’s Play by one of Mull’s leading poets Jan Sutch Pickard beautifully describes a day in the life of the sculpture.

Child’s Play

Sun burnishes the granite,
a blessing on the stone
making it warm as human skin
but still as hard as bone.

Sculpture of the Fallen Christ
like an erratic boulder:
a child at play has clambered up
to perch upon his shoulder

She rides upon the solid rock
joyfully, safely there:
rough stone supports her hands and feet,
the wind plays with her hair.

I see a place of refuge
for a troubled little girl:
God’s back being broad enough to bear
the weight of all the world.

Jan Sutch Pickard – Wild Goose Publications

Pieta

Granite: 5x6x3ft 3.00 tons. Location: Rozelle Park, Ayr. Sold.

Pieta

One of five sculptures at Rozelle Park portraying the Tragic Sacrifice of Christ. This more abstract work shows the body and limbs of Christ as he taken down from the cross. This project was sponsored by Kyle and Carrick District Council. The granite stone came from the Old Harbour wall in Ayr that was being demolished – recycling par excellence!

To see a short video about this sculpture go to Latest News on Video on the right hand column of this page and click on Ronald Rae visits his earliest sculptures at Rozelle Park Ayr.

Abraham

Granite: 11x6x5ft 15.00 tons. Location: Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Gifted.

Abraham

A spiritual work of Abraham looking heavenwards when God told him to stay his hand from sacrificing his son. This fine-grained granite was shipped over from the Gran-Quartz quarry in Georgia USA. Rae carved the sculpture in the hospital grounds much to the interest of the patients and staff. On completion he donated it to the hospital.