Dick, Sir William Reid (1878-1961), was a skillful sculptor who was noted for his deep insight into character. Dick created an enormous number of works, winning praise both for his architectural sculpture and for his portraits. Among his best-known works are images of King George VI; Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II); Sir Winston Churchill; King George V; Franklin D. Roosevelt; and David Livingstone. Dick was also the sculptor of the statue of Lady Godiva on horseback, which is in Coventry, England. Dick worked successfully in both bronze and stone.
Dick was born on Jan. 31, 1878, in Glasgow, Scotland, and studied at the School of Art there in 1906 and 1907. He settled permanently in London in 1907. Dick made his reputation with a series of memorial sculptures commissioned after the end of World War I in 1918. He executed these memorials throughout the 1920’s and early 1930’s. Dick was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1928 and knighted in 1935. He was president of the Royal Society of British Sculptors from 1933 to 1938. He died on Oct. 1, 1961.
