SILLMAN, Norman Henry

1921 - 2013

Norman Henry Sillman was born at Holborn, London on 4 May 1921, son of Henry Percival John Sillman (27 December 1893-19 December 1960) and his wife Elizabeth Louise née Cooper (13 March 1884-24 June 1967), who married at Shoreditch, London in 1913. On 11 September 1924, the family sailed on the 'Demosthenes' for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and they lived at Pyramid Hill, Victoria, where his father was a farmer, but due to severe droughts they returned to England in 1934 and in 1939, Henry, now an insurance agent, was living at 16 Bamford Road, Lewisham, London with his family. Norman was educated at Pyramid Hill, Australia and on returning to the U.K. he studied at Blackheath School of Art 1935-1940, under James Woodford (1893-1976) and began further studies at the Royal College of Art in 1941, his studies being curtailed by army service in the Royal Artillery, but in 1946 he studied at the Accademia in Florence before completing his studies at the Royal College of Art 1946-1949 under Frank Dobson (1866-1963) and John Skeaping (1901-1980). In 1956 he began designing coins and medals when the Royal Mint invited him to present sample of his work and his first commission was for the reverse side of a Commemorative Crown issued by Bermuda in 1959. At the same time, he was also teaching part-time at Nottingham College of Art 1956-1984 also engaged in freelance work. A fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, a member of the Midland Group and joined Federation Internationale de la Medaille. A sculptor, designer of coins and medals, he exhibited at the Royal Academy and at the Royal Society of British Artists; Society for Education in Art and the London Group of Artists. From 1959 he designed an extensive range of coins, for foreign governments, including the £2 coin for Britain's Commonwealth Games in 1986. He married at Lewisham in 1945, Gillian Margaret Drake (1921–2007) and they lived at 33 Church Street, Eye, Suffolk. Norman Henry Sillman died on 18 July 2013, leaving a daughter, Caroline, who was born 15 September 1947.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from 22a Redcliffe Square, London
1953 1209 African Elephant - concrete statuette
         1342 Three Figures - statuette
1954 1265 Young Praying Mantis - statuette
         1287 Girl in the Park - statuette
         1307 Nyalla - statuette
1955 1329 Chinese Gander - fondu
         1337 Japanese Pond Heron - concrete
         1387 African Drill - fondu
1956 1300 Bison - concrete statuette
from 5 Victoria Crescent, Sherwood, Nottingham
1958 1397 Baboon - plastic metal
         1419 The Nun - concrete statuette
         1428 Torso - concrete
1961 1325 Mother and Child - resin and fibreglass
         1347 Old Lady - resin and fibreglass
he also had on display amongst the coins and medals 'WVS Long Service Medal'

---

Works by This Artist