The sculpture of Michael Sandle - John McEwen

Michael Sandle is widely recognized as one of the finest sculptors in the world and one of the few contemporary artists to tackle the most momentous subject of the 20th century - war. He is perhaps most famed for the semi-architectural Malta Siege-Bell Memorial at Valletta, a World War II commemoration which has as its centrepiece bell the "Santa Maria", one of the largest ever forged. Sandle has no public work in America but he has taught there, and another of his works, "A Twentieth-Century Memorial", had its genesis in California. His international status, unmatched in his field by any other British artist of his generation, was confirmed when he was awarded the Rodin Grand Prize in 1986, Japan's most prestigious contemporary art award. His largest public commission in England is a memorial to the world's seafarers, for the world headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation in London. This volume concentrates on the artist's masterpieces but pays due tribute to his brilliance as a draughtsman and printmaker and reveals some of his (as yet) unrealized projects.