A Head Study of Dr T. J. Honeyman
Benno Schotz
Bronze on a wooden plinth

Benno Schotz (1891-1984) was born in Estonia, coming to Glasgow in 1912 to study engineering at Glasgow Royal Technical College and later sculpture at Glasgow School of Art. After a highly successful series of international one-man shows, he returned to GSA in 1938 as head of the sculpture and ceramics departments. In order to capture the unique character of his sitters he asked that they continue to talk and move while he worked. He sculpted quickly, a technique which is evident in this roughly worked, expressive study.

The sitter, Dr Tom Honeyman (1892-1971), was a prominent figure in Glasgow’s cultural history. After graduating from the University of Glasgow with a medical degree he practised medicine until 1929. He then put his medical career on hold to embark on a long and illustrious life as an art dealer. In 1939 he became the first Director of Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries, a post he held for 15 years. During his tenure he was instrumental in securing the donation of the Burrell collection, in 1944, and in the purchase of Salvador Dali’s Christ of Saint John of the Cross (1951) in 1952. Honeyman never lost his love of medicine and was a great friend to the College. On the occasion of his death in 1971 his family gifted the sculpture to the College.