Geoffrey Dashwood

(British, born 1947)

Geoffrey Dashwood is a contemporary British sculptor known for his carved stone and cast bronze birds. Characterized by smooth surfaces and sloping, continuous curves, his sculptures stylize and simplify his subject matter while displaying empathy for the natural world. “Birds have been a personal passion since childhood,” Dashwood has explained, “and I am constantly and inexplicably drawn back to them for inspiration.” Born in 1947 in Hampshire, England, he studied briefly at the Southampton College of Art, subsequently working with the Forestry Commission as a keeper in the New Forest National Park in southern England. His time in the wilderness instilling in him an affection for fauna, Dashwood soon began garnering commissions for paintings and illustrations, and by the 1980s, he had begun producing the stone avian sculptures he is now known for. Continuing to live and work in England, Dashwood oeuvre includes both small and mid-size stone sculptures as well as monumental public works.