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TOM MERRIFIELD

 

Tom at work in his studio

 
 

'Dragonfly' Miniature

[See image below for details]

 

 

 
 
Tom Merrifield has been described as a 'force of nature', which is a very accurate description, as it is that force, and that energy, that has made him the huge success he has become.

After a childhood in Australia, where Tom had been the youngest principal dancer with The Borovansky Ballet, he came to London, where, within a few years, he had become one of the most successful dancers in the West End in such productions as 'West Side Story' and 'Showboat'. After an injury curtailed his dance career, Tom turned to the second stage of his remarkable life, and began to draw and create sculptures of the world of dance. He became an immediate success, and has since exhibited in New York, Paris, Brussels, as well as Monte Carlo, Athens, London and of course, Aberdeen.

Tom's work is his life, and he continues to create sculpture and drawings, which come from the soul of his veritable 'force of nature'. 

 
 
 

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.

 

   
     
     
'Dance Movement' 'Jazz II'

81cm x 109cm

84cm x 38cm

mixed media

mixed media

SOLD

 SOLD

   
   

'Electric' 'Swing'

49cm x 36cm

61cm x 37cm

mixed media

mixed media

£1,000

£1,250

 

 
   

'Alina Cojocaru' 'Alina' Miniature

‘Dragonfly’ Miniature

Bronze Bronze Bronze

Edition of 8

Edition of 75

Edition of 95

£7,500

£1,900

£2,500

     
     

'Elizabeth' dancer on a ribbon  'Jade' Miniature 'Rudolf' (Nureyev) dancer on a ribbon
Bronze Bronze Bronze

Edition of 25

 Edition of 95

Edition of 95

£5,000

 £1,400

£3,000

     
     

 'Magic' Miniature 'Harlequin I, II & III' Miniatures 'Prince' Miniature
Bronze Bronze Bronze
 Edition of 75

Edition of 75

Edition of 75

 £1,900

£2,500 each

£1,900

 

   
     

'Garry' Miniature ‘Aggie’ Miniature  'Aggie'
Bronze Bronze Bronze

Edition of 95

Edition of 75

 Edition of 25

SOLD

£1,900

£4,500

     
   

 'Spartacus' Miniature

'Odile' Miniature 'Fleur'

Bronze

Bronze

Bronze

Edition of 95

Edition of 95 Edition of 25
£1,600 £1,600 £4,500
     
     
     
     

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