|
Tom Merrifield was born
in Sydney, Australia. He trained as a classical dancer and became a
soloist with the Borovansky Ballet at the age of sixteen; later he
went on to dance in musicals. In 1956 he moved to Britain where his
first engagement, as a principal dancer in
Cinderella
at the London
Coliseum, marked the beginning of a very distinguished career as a
show dancer. Amongst the many stage musicals in which he
subsequently appeared were:
On the Town, West
Side Story, Man of La Mancha
as well as in numerous
television productions.
It was during his film
engagements - which included
Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang, Half a Sixpence, Young Ladies of Rochfort
- that he started to draw
his fellow dancers during the long periods of waiting on the set.
The development of this new found "pastime" led to an invitation to
exhibit his drawings at a West End gallery.
Shortly before the
opening of this exhibition, the theme of which was Dance, Tom saw
some sculptures that were intended to be exhibited in conjunction
with his drawings. He instantly set to work, in his dressing room at
the Adelphi Theatre where he was then principal dancer in
Showboat,
and produced the model for his first figure in bronze. His first
sculptures were then substituted for those due to be exhibited and
he received great acclaim from the critics.
After Tom left the stage
and took up drawing and sculpting as a fulltime occupation, he never
looked back. He has sculpted many of the world's most famous
dancers, including: Alicia Markova, Beryl Grey, Natalia Makarova,
Antoinette Sibley, Eva Evdokimova, Galina Samsova, Marion Tait,
Anton Dolin, John Gilpin, Anthony Dowell, Ivan Nagy, Peter Schaufuss,
Wayne Sleep, Kenn Wells amongst others. In sixteen years Tom has
gained acclaim throughout the world and has exhibited and sold his
work in London, Paris, New York, Edinburgh, Brussels, Monte Carlo
and in many other cities. His work has also been recognised by the
Royal Society of British Sculptors who elected him ARBS for
"Distinction in the Art of Sculpture".
Tom works from life,
preferring to sketch and model his dancers in class or at his
Hampstead studio. He is a perfectionist and feels that there are so
many avenues to explore - whether in drawing, painting or sculpture
- that he never stops changing and evolving all the time; he also
feels that one of the most important things is to be happy in what
he is doing. In recent years he has completed five magnificent life
sized sculptures, including Solitaire, Dragonfly, Spartacus and
Juliet. Dragonfly, was chosen by the Victorian Arts Centre in
Melbourne, Australia, where it now graces the Pavlova Walk in the
lovely gardens of this truly splendid building. Spartacus greets
patrons as he stands at the centre to the Chichester Festival
Theatre in Sussex.
Tom's work is in private
collections throughout the world, and he is now recognised as being
a major living artist. This was recently confirmed when the dancers
of the Bolshoi Ballet presented him with a signed ballet shoe as
their tribute to his talent.
His technical knowledge
of dance extends through his bronzes and drawings, not only
capturing the grace and line of the dancer but, after he has the
opportunity to work with a person, he finds that he begins to
penetrate the various layers of their personality and fibre which
then gives an extra dimension to his work. He says that the more he
works in bronze, the more he realises that he never really gave up
dancing but has continued to dance through this medium. |
.jpg)
