Granite: 7x8x4ft 12.00 tons. Location: Station Square, Milton Keynes. Sold.
Photo courtesy of Milton Keynes Council.
O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast
Carved in Creetown granite this sculpture celebrates one of Burns’ last poems written for Jessy Lewars who nursed him during his final illness. The sculpture shows a couple comforting each other in times of trouble. In Milton Keynes the local people call it “the cuddling couple.”
O wert thou in the cauld blast,
On yonder lea, on yonder lea,
My plaidie to the angry airt,
I’d shelter thee, I’d shelter thee;
Or did misfortune’s bitter storms
Around thee blaw, around thee blaw,
They bield should be my bosom.
To share it a’, to share it a’.
Robert Burns
A plaque of the poem in braille accompanies the work. Purchased by Commissions for the New Towns following a major exhibition of Rae’s work in the city from 1995-1999.
An expressive sculpture of a man on the ground pleading with a begging bowl. Carved in response to the famine in Ethiopia in 1994, the bowl fills with water when it rains and dries up when there is a drought.
This monumental hand of Christ with the stigmata portrays the hand that suffered on the Cross. The theme of suffering not only features in many of Rae’s sculptures but also in his drawings of Inmates and Down and Outs. Rae donated this sculpture to St. John’s Church.
Granite: 4x5x3ft 2.00 tons. Location: Almond Valley Heritage Centre, Livingston. Sold.
Sheep
Rae has made several animal drawings. This was his first animal sculpture, of which many more would follow.
The Sheep sculpture was exhibited at the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988 and afterwards auctioned by Christie’s and purchased by Livingston Development Corporation for the entrance to the Almond Valley Heritage Centre.
Granite 9x4x4ft 9.00 tons. Location: Riverside Park, Glenrothes. Sold. Unveiled by HRH The Prince of Wales.
The Good Samaritan
This work was commissioned by Glenrothes Development Corporation to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the New Town. Rae based his sculpture on the King’s Cross tube disaster after seeing firemen carry the victims to safety. The sculpture symbolises the community spirit of the town.
A figure twists in anguish and looks upwards saying “Let this never happen again.” Carved in memory of those who died in Hiroshima, this sculpture warns of the tragedy of nuclear war. Every year on 6th August, Hiroshima Day, candles are lit around the sculpture.
Purchased from the Ronald Rae Exhibition at Milton Keynes 1995-1999 and gifted to the Temple by art consultant, Edna Read who died tragically in a car crash in October 2012. She is greatly missed.
In this sculpture Rae tackles subjects dear to him. On one side of the stone the cross relates to his Celtic roots. On the other side, one of the smallest forms of life, the insect, is presented just as large to show respect for life no matter how insignificant it might seem. Purchased from the exhibition at Sheffield by Centro.
Granite: 4x9x5ft 5.00 tons. Location: Victoria Quays, Sheffield. Sold.
Sacred Cow
Through this work Rae shows his love and concern for all creatures – not only the cow is sacred.
The sculpture was chosen by ballot from the exhibition by the schools and purchased by the Sheffield Development Corporation following the Ronald Rae Sculpture Exhibition at Nunnery Square, Sheffield in 1994. Rae gave a talk to the school children and in return received hundreds of letters and drawings of the sculptures from the pupils which he treasures to this day.
Granite: 5x5x5ft 5.00 tons. Location: Dormston Art Centre, Sedgley. Sold.
Elephant and Rhino
This imposing sculpture carved from a rough granite boulder depicts two endangered species, one metamorphosing into the other. This pic shows the side with the elephant.
Sited at the entrance to the Dormston Art Centre, Rae took it as a compliment when he discovered that the lounge bar in the Centre is named after his sculpture – The Elephant and Rhino.
Granite: 6x9x3ft 5.00 tonnes. Location: Shropshire. Sold to The Jerwood Foundation.
Widow Woman.
Not only a study of old age, this sculpture expresses the grief and the loneliness of widowhood.
It was carved with hand tools over a period of 9 months. The 5 tonne boulder of Creetown granite has been isotopically dated at 391 million years old.
Purchased from the Regent’s Park Exhibition by the Jerwood Foundation.
Hand-carved granite sculptures in public and private collections
