Desmond Fountain has earned international acclaim as a sculptor.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors since 1986—an honour rarely bestowed—he specialises in the female nude and portraiture, mainly as the entire figure, and his work is featured in public and private collections around the world.
His lifelike depiction of historical and contemporary personalities has won him an wide following. Noteworthy are his portrayals of Princess Margaret, Felix Dennis, Mark Twain and Sir George Somers, all of which may be found in the richly illustrated book, Desmond Fountain: Sculptor.
Fountain was born in Bermuda in 1946 to parents, Desmond, an accountant, and Ruth (nee Masters), a painter. Fountain was just four-months-old when he was taken to Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa.
Every 18 months, a six-month sabbatical would see the family travel back to Bermuda. “We would take a freighter that was taking on first-class passengers, sailing from Sierra Leone to London. Then we would take a second ship to Boston or New York, and then take a flight or ship to Bermuda,” he recalled. “By the time we got to Bermuda, it was almost time to begin packing to head back to Sierra Leone.”
It was in Sierra Leone that Fountain, aged six, earned his first art award at a British Council adult exhibition. Those formative years in Sierra Leone helped to develop his artistic style and ambition.
“My mother was a painter and although I never had a painting lesson, I think I absorbed from her the ability to handle paint, and mix it, during her painting jaunts in Sierra Leone,” he said.
“We didn’t have many toys in Africa—there were no equivalents of the big toy shops elsewhere—so I made my own toys and the only thing I remember having were a low children’s table, a chair and lots of paper, paints, crayons and all sorts of art materials. You create your own amusement in an environment like that—it was quite an isolated childhood because there were not many Europeans out there, and not many children I could play with. I became quite self-sufficient and I think it influenced me to be able to focus and complete projects.
“I think growing up there also influenced me in terms of the anatomy—the people of Sierra Leone were very natural. If they wanted to swim or bathe, they did so. It was the missionaries who arrived in Sierra Leone and created the custom of Sierra Leoneans wanting to clothe themselves in European-style garb. The anatomy I observed while living in Sierra Leone worked through finally into my love of, and ability with, sculpture.”
The family moved back to Bermuda full-time when Fountain was nine years old. He attended Whitney Institute, and his love of art continued; he sold his first artwork at the age of 11 from an exhibition at the Bermuda Society of Arts.
From age 15, Fountain was schooled at Normanton College in Derbyshire, England—when the art master was absent, Fountain was asked to lead classes for the rest of the students. Upon graduation, he pursued art studies at Stoke-on-Trent College of Art. A foundation year exposed him to areas as diverse as graphic design, printmaking, photography, ceramics, three dimensional design, painting, silver and goldsmithing, textiles design and weaving. He earned top marks and when the school launched a new sculpture department, he was invited to be its only student alongside two professors.
“When I first began sculpting the figure, there was an explosion of creativity, I had finally discovered my raison d’être” he said. “The first sculpture I made was a life-size nude. From that moment on, from that awakening, I knew what I had to do.”
Fountain studied sculpture and printmaking at Exeter College of Art, where he was President of the Students’ Guild and organised the first exhibition of students’ work. While earning post-graduate qualifications in education at Bristol University, he was commissioned to create a sculpture of their Nobel Prize winner for physics, Cecil Frank Powell.
“At the time that I made the decision to attend Bristol, I was aware that it was difficult to make a living in the art world,” he said, “so I decided to become qualified to teach so that I could do so if I wanted to, or had to. After graduation, I was living in Tiverton, England and had earned several commissions—but my family convinced me that they would prefer me to have a steady income.”
A position as head of the art department at Warwick Academy opened up—and Fountain returned to Bermuda in 1971 to take up a post he would hold for three years. He had first come to the attention of Warwick Academy headmaster, Geoffrey Lamacraft while studying at Exeter. Upon his return to Bermuda, Fountain became involved with the Bermuda Society of Arts, and served for a time as the organisation’s president.
Aside from the many works found in private collections, Fountain’s work is also enjoyed by the wider public. His sculpture of Johnny Barnes now joins the real Johnny on East Broadway, welcoming motorists to Hamilton each morning. His sculpture of former Miss World Gina Swainson has long been a favourite while sculptures of Mark Twain grace the lobby of the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel and the Butterfield Bank branch on Reid Street, Hamilton, and Sir George Somers stands on Ordnance Island in St. George’s. A Google site maps all the locations of his public sculptures in Bermuda.
The ‘figure’ has preoccupied his imagery throughout his career. Since his successful London one-man shows at the Alwin in the 1980s, he has had his own gallery, which is currently at Elbow Beach Hotel in Bermuda.
Commissions have taken him to the far reaches of the world; recently he completed a three-times-life-size sculpture for The World Sculpture Park in Changchun, China, the world’s largest sculpture park.
In 1982, Fountain created and funded a Private Bill in the House of Assembly in Bermuda for the creation of the Bermuda Fine Art Trust, from which the Bermuda National Gallery was established.
His biography can be found in Who’s Who in Art, Who’s Who in the World, Outstanding People of the 20th Century, and Debrett’s People of Today. He is also featured in virtually every travel guide to Bermuda.
Fountain was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Bermuda Arts Council in 2003, and won the Charman Prize for Sculpture—awarded by Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art— in 2008.
He and his wife live in Bermuda where he has his studio, but he has to travel frequently to Europe to supervise each stage of the casting of his bronzes.
His exhibitions and commissions include:
Exhibitions and Galleries:
- Bermuda Soc of Arts 1958
- Exe Gallery Devon 1968
- Exeter City Museum and Art Gallery 1969 and 1970
- Spectrum Designs Ltd Devon 1969
- Univ of Bristol 1970
- City Hall Bermuda (two-man show) 1972
- City Hall Bermuda (four-man show) 1973
- Country Art Gallery USA 1974
- Bermuda Soc of Arts Gp Show 1974
- City Hall Bermuda (three man show) 1975
- Bridge House Art Gallery Bermuda (fndr Desmond Fountain) 1976
- Newport USA 1976, The Int Gallery Bermuda (three man show) 1977
- St George’s Gallery Middx 1977,
- Windjammer Gallery Bermuda 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993 and 1998
- Bermuda Soc of Arts Members Show 1980
- Glen Gallery Canada 1981
- South African Gallery London 1981
- Poole Fine Art USA 1981
- Boston Fine Art Inc 1981
- Coach House Gallery Guernsey 1983
- Sally Le Gallis Jersey 1983
- Renaissance Gallery USA 1983 and 1986
- Alwin Gallery Summer Exhibition London 1985
- Alwin Gallery UK 1986 and 1987
- RSBS USA 1986
- Br Sculptors Art Centre Bermuda 1987
- Art Expo LA 1987
- World Congress USA 1987
- The Sculpture Gallery Bermuda 1989
- Pinehurst Gallery NC 1990
- Hartley Hill Gallery Calif 1992 93
- E S Lawrence Gallery Aspen 1993
- Cavalier Galleries Stamford 1993
- RSBS Chelsea Harbour 1993
- L’Ortolan Sculpture Garden Berks 1993
- Perry House Galleries Alexandria USA 1994
- Bruton Street London 1994
- Bermuda National Gallery, Retropective 1995
- Cavalier Galleries Greenwich and Nantucket 1995-2008
- Royall Fine Art Tunbridge Wells 2005-2008
- DeFined Art, Esher, 2006 – 2008
- Masterworks Gallery, Bermuda, 2008
- The Gallery, Mayfair, London UK 2009
Solo Exhibitions include:
- H A & E Smith Ltd Bermuda 1975
- A S Cooper & Sons Gallery 1976
- Hamma Galleries Bermuda 1978
- Alwin Gallery London 1980
- Bacardi Int 1982
- Coach House Gallery, Guernsey 1983
- Sally Le Gallais, Jersey 1983
- Renaissance Gallery, Stamford Ct 1983-1986
- Windjammer, Bermuda 1985, 86, 89, 93
- The Sculpture Gallery, Bermuda 1989-2000
- l’Ortolan, Berkshire 1993
- The Desmond Fountain Gallery, Bermuda 2000-06
- Bermuda National Gallery, Retrospective 1995
- Falle Fine Art Jersey 1995 and 1997
- Cavalier Gallery USA 1995, Coutts Bermuda 1996
Commissions Include:
- Sculpture of Sir George Somers for St George’s unveiled by HRH Princess Margaret 1984
- Medallions in silver, gold and platinum featuring a portrait of HRH Princess Margaret 1985
- Spirit of Joanna Greece 1993 94
- Sculpture of Mark Twain unveiled at Directors’ Circle preview of Bermuda Nat Gall retrospective 1994 95
- Sculpture of The Spirit of Bermuda: Johnny Barnes 1997 98
- Heroes of the Oz Trial for Felix Dennis, UK 1997 2000
- Jorgen Svendsen for Belzona in Harrogate 2002; 2003
- Sarah(3 x life size), for The World Sculpture Park, Changchun, China. 2006
- Troubadour, private location, 2009
- Matriarch, private location, 2010
