London triumph for artist from Harrogate area

A talented young sculptor from the Harrogate district says he's thrilled to have won one of London's most prestigious arts prizes.
Pateley Bridge sculptor Joseph Hayton with the sculpture which won a top award at Pall Mall Gallery in London.Pateley Bridge sculptor Joseph Hayton with the sculpture which won a top award at Pall Mall Gallery in London.
Pateley Bridge sculptor Joseph Hayton with the sculpture which won a top award at Pall Mall Gallery in London.

Pateley Bridge-based Joseph Hayton’s stunning portrait of famous sculptor James Butler RA has been on display at FACE 2018 at La Galleria at Pall Mall which is hosted by The Society of Portrait Sculptors.

But he was surprised and delighted this week to receive the Iranti Prize for best work by a sculptor aged 30 or under.

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The award was presented by Malcolm Hay, curator of works of art at the Palace of Westminster.

The exhibition, which finishes tomorrow, Saturday, May 19 features 70 works including a piece by Rodin.

An expert stonemason, Hayton’s piece was inspired by his meeting in 2016 with Butler, the Royal Academician who has worked for the Royal Mint and has produced many monumental sculptures in the UK and abroad.

A modern sculptor who embraces traditional techniques, he uses processes and practices and even some of the tools, that Donatello or even Michelangelo would have been familiar with

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Joseph originally trained as a stone mason at York College where he learnt the craft to an advanced level.

In 2014, his first monumental installation of public art, Pillars Past, was unveiled just a short walk from his King Street workshop in Pateley which he first opened in 2012 after working for several years as a full time stone mason at various stone yards and quarries in Yorkshire,

Called Pillars Past , the sculpture was based on the past industries of Nidderdale and made a big impression on visitors and more local residents.

Last year saw Joseph started to create a body of work inspired by the story and ruins of Fountains Abbey.

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The work, called Dissolution, included both bronze and marble relief sculpture using architectural elements and blending them with the folds and lines of Monks Drapery.

The exhibition was on display firstly in Pateley Bridge and then moved to Fountains Abbey itself in late summer with great success.