Bryan Ellery was born in England in 1943.His first stab at portraiture was at the age of seven,a caricature in mud of his headmaster, for which he was given the cane. This negative reception put him off for a few years, until he was in his final year at Exeter University, where he was studying English. At this time he made a portrait in bronze of his Professor, Moelwyn Merchant, which, (rather like the cash for honours system so popular today), secured him a Lower Two. He then spent 3 years studying sculpture at Exeter College of Art. Over the next few years he produced the occasional portrait, but generally took other work to support his rapidly enlarging family taking up Interior Design and Building Conversion. Nowadays he finds that being a professional portrait sculptor is a good excuse to see as much of our planet as possible whilst still earning a living. He has worked on most of the continents of this world and now has his eye on those remaining, especially especially South America and Africa.

He has always been fascinated by the human face, and it’s infinite variety, and has tried , over the years to throw his net as widely as possible in his choice of subjects, both in the age range (from fidgety one year olds to chatty nonagenarians), to the varying colours and
characteristics available in humankind, and in their positions and skills in society.

He particularly enjoys working with creative people, such as the writer Ben Okri, or the painter John Napper. Some years ago he made a portrait of Julie Christie ,the actress, and travelled to St Petersburg to portray the conductor Ilia Musin. In Hong Kong he caught up with the entrepreneur and musician David Tang. In England he has just finished a portrait of Sir Alistair Horne, the historian.

Bronze portraiture has traditionally been popular with the aristocracy, and Bryan has often had the good fortune to work in their beautiful stately homes. But though some of his sitters may happen to be well known figures in society, or members of the “glitterati”, Bryan prefers to ignore their alter egos and study them as just more examples of the beauty of humanity. He is especially known for his likenesses of children, which bring out their intrinsic and unique magic. He is based in London, where most of his family tend to congregate, but loves to escape regularly.