Bernard Moritz Schottlander, 1924-1999

Bernard Schottlander (1924-1999) worked as both an industrial designer and sculptor, and, although the design work predates his sculpture, he is perhaps best known for his public sculptures, examples of which can be seen in Britain and abroad.

Schottlander was born in Mainz, Germany, and emigrated to England in 1939. He began his career as a welder and plater and attended evening classes in sculpture at Leeds School of Art, later transferring to the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London where he studied industrial design between 1949 and 1951. He then established his own industrial design business in north London where he manufactured lighting that attracted the attention of architects and the design cognoscenti.

In 1953 Schottlander's work was included in a major exhibition of British design organised by the British Council and held in Zurich. Two years later he was elected to the Society of Industrial Artists. In 1956, his 'Diabolo' ashtray was commissioned for the Design Centre when it opened in 1956, and thereafter his work was included in a variety of Design Council exhibitions both in Britain and abroad.

From the early 1960s Schottlander gave up his design work in order to focus on sculpture, and taught metalwork at St Martin's School of Art. Exhibitions of his work were held at the Architectural Association in 1964 and at the Hamilton Gallery in 1966. From this time, his interest lay in large-scale outdoor sculpture. A noteworthy commission is his curved steel structure 'South of the River' (1973), sited outside the premises of Ernst & Young on London's south bank.

From the guide to the Bernard Schottlander Archive, 1950-2000, (University of Brighton Design Archives)