Bronze Sculpture
That Outlives Us All
Bronze wildlife sculpture and monumental public art, for developments, councils, hotels and estates. Bronze is the only material a sculptor can work in and know, with something close to certainty, that the piece will outlive everyone who chose it. Most of this studio’s bronze work is large scale and commissioned: a landmark standing fifteen metres above a square, a wildlife trail across a scheme, a signature piece at the entrance to a development.
Why the serious work is still made in bronze.
Three thousand years after it was first poured, bronze remains the standard against which figurative, animalier and civic sculpture is measured. The reason is simple, and it is not fashion. Bronze does not rot, rust through, fade or fail. Left entirely alone in an English garden it will still be there, unmistakably itself, when the house around it has been re-roofed three times.
What it does instead is change. A bronze develops a patina, a living skin that deepens and settles with every year of weather, so the piece delivered to you is not quite the piece your grandchildren will walk past. Nothing about that is decay. It is the work continuing to arrive.
That is the argument for bronze, and it is why it remains the material of the limited edition, the civic monument and the commission intended to be inherited rather than replaced. A piece is bought once. It is then simply there, holding its place, long after the decision that acquired it has been forgotten.
Two routes into bronze.
They produce very different objects and answer very different briefs. The studio works in both, so the method follows the sculpture rather than the sculpture bending to the method.
Modelled in clay, cast by lost wax
The traditional foundry route, and the one that carries life. Charles models the original in clay himself, over a steel armature. Every wildlife, equestrian and figurative bronze begins on his bench, in his hands.
- Sculpted in clay. The original modelled by hand by Charles, built over an armature.
- Rubber moulding. A silicone rubber mould taken from the clay, jacketed for support.
- Wax pulled and chased. Molten wax cast into the mould, then worked until the wax is right. Whatever the wax shows, the bronze will show.
- Ceramic shell. The wax invested in ceramic and fired, so the wax runs out and leaves its own absence behind. The lost wax.
- Poured in bronze. Molten bronze poured into the void the wax has left.
- Fettled, welded, patinated. Shell broken away, sections joined, chased and patinated by hand.
Suited to: bronze wildlife and animalier subjects, equestrian and horse head sculpture, portraits and figurative work, limited editions, and anything in which the mark of the hand is the point.
Built by hand in bronze & brass sheet
Built rather than poured. Silicon bronze and brass sheet is cut, formed and welded over a frame by hand, here in our own workshop, then chased and patinated. Silicon bronze is the fabricator’s alloy: it welds cleanly, holds a worked surface and takes a patina as deeply as any cast piece. Every sculpture in the workshop collection is cut and crafted this way, in house, by our own team.
- Design and drawing. The form resolved on paper, then in card or steel maquette.
- Cut and form. Bronze and brass sheet cut, rolled, dished and shaped by hand.
- Build up. Sections welded over an internal frame, the form arriving piece by piece.
- Chase and finish. Welds dressed back, the surface worked, texture brought up.
- Patinate. Heat and chemistry applied by hand until the colour comes through.
Suited to: contemporary and abstract forms, spheres, leaf and seed forms, graphic silhouettes, and architectural work at scale where weight and cost carry real consequence.
Which route a piece should take is rarely obvious at the outset, and it is the first thing worth discussing. Speak to the studio and we will talk you through the options, and what each would mean for your sculpture.
Traditional bronze, or verdigris.
Patina is not paint. It is a chemical reaction worked into the surface by hand, with heat and with time, and it continues to move for decades after the piece is set down.
Traditional bronze
Warm browns through to near-black, drawn up by hand. The classic foundry patina, and the one most private commissions take.
Verdigris
The blue-green of weathered bronze, created and controlled in the studio rather than waited for. Remarkable against stone and planting.
Polished & gilded
Bronze and brass brought to a high polish, or lifted with gold leaf, for interiors and for pieces intended to catch light.
Dark & contemporary
Deep, matt, near-graphite finishes for modern architecture, where the form should read as silhouette.
Finish samples are made and sent before anything is committed on a commission, so the decision is taken against your own stone, brick and planting rather than from a screen.
Considering a bronze commission?
A short conversation with Charles is the quickest way to understand what is possible, what it will cost and how long it will take.
Chiefly commercial, and at scale.
Bronze rewards size. The moulding, the casting and the engineering carry a fixed cost whatever the piece, which is why the great majority of the studio’s bronze work is large, commissioned and commercial.
Commercial & public art
Developers, councils, placemaking teams, architects, landscape architects, hotels and corporate clients. Section 106 and percent-for-art schemes, wildlife trails across a masterplan, arrival pieces, and landmark works that give a scheme its identity.
Engaged as artist or as lead designer, with engineering, installation, insurance and aftercare carried by the studio rather than by you. Typically £50,000 to £2m+.
Private estates & collectors
Private bronze commissions are taken, and they are almost always significant: a landmark piece for the grounds of an estate, or a wildlife sculpture at life size and beyond. Commissions in bronze begin around £25,000, and rise quickly with scale.
For a smaller garden piece, the studio’s fabricated steel and bronze collection is usually the better answer, and is available now.
One studio, one point of contact.
Conversation
The subject, the setting and the scale. Charles responds personally.
Design
Drawings, a clay maquette or a scale model. Finish samples made against your own materials.
Engineering
Where required, structural calculations, armature design and drawings for sign-off.
Made by hand
Modelled, moulded and cast by lost wax, or fabricated in the workshop.
Installed
Logistics, craneage, foundations and installation, worldwide and fully insured.
Cared for
Patina and maintenance guidance at handover, and the studio returns to service the piece.
Five steps, start to finish.
No gallery in between, and no long procurement process. This is how a bronze sculpture is ordered from the studio.
- Tell us what you have in mind. Call the studio or send the form below. The subject, the setting and roughly what you want it to do. Charles replies personally, usually within one working day.
- A conversation, then a quote. A short call or a studio visit. You leave with a clear price, a timescale and a recommended method, cast or fabricated. Nothing is charged for at this stage.
- Design and approval. Drawings, a clay maquette or a scale model, plus finish samples to hold against your own stone or brick. Nothing is made until you have signed it off.
- Made by hand. Modelled, moulded and cast, or cut and fabricated in silicon bronze. Photographs sent as it progresses. For large work, engineering drawings are produced alongside.
- Delivered and installed. By us, worldwide, fully insured, with foundations and craneage handled. You are given patina care notes on the day, and we come back to service the piece.
Payment is staged, typically a deposit to begin, a stage payment at approval and the balance on installation. Commissions in bronze begin around £25,000. Pieces available now from the workshop collection begin considerably lower.
The practical answers, up front.
How long does a bronze sculpture last?
Centuries, and with no intervention beyond occasional care. Bronze does not rust through or degrade in the way steel and iron do. It develops a protective patina that continues to deepen, which is why bronzes cast two and three thousand years ago survive today. It is the reason the material is chosen for civic monuments and for work intended to be inherited.
What is lost wax casting?
Also called cire perdue, it is the method by which most fine art bronze has been made for millennia. The original is modelled in clay, a silicone rubber mould is taken, wax is cast into that mould and chased by hand, the wax is invested in a ceramic shell and fired so the wax runs out, and molten bronze is poured into the void it leaves. The shell is broken away and the bronze welded, chased and patinated.
Is every piece cast?
No. The studio works in two ways. Wildlife, equestrian and figurative work is modelled in clay and cast by lost wax. Contemporary and abstract work, and much of the large architectural work, is fabricated by hand from bronze and brass sheet, cut, formed and welded over a frame. Both are bronze, both are made here, and the method is chosen to suit the piece.
Does Charles sculpt the clay himself?
Yes. Every clay original is modelled by hand by Charles at his own bench. The fabricated work is made by Charles and the studio team at Wolds Farm. Nothing is outsourced to a design service.
Can a small sculpture be scaled up into monumental public art?
Yes, and it is a common route. The original is scanned and the enlarged form produced by CNC-cut polystyrene or 3D printing, which becomes the pattern the bronze is built or cast around. That preserves the character of the hand-modelled original at three, seven or fifteen metres.
How large can you go?
Beyond fifteen metres, with a stainless steel internal structure, structural engineers and a full design team assembled around the commission. At that level the sculpture is delivered as a build, with engineering drawings, foundation design, staged milestones and craned installation.
What is verdigris, and can I have it?
Verdigris is the blue-green patina bronze develops as it weathers. It is created and controlled in the studio with heat and chemistry rather than waited for. Traditional brown-black patinas, polished bronze, gilding and dark contemporary finishes are all available, and samples are made before anything is committed.
Do you produce limited editions?
Yes. Cast work may be produced as a limited edition, numbered and recorded, or as a unique piece. Which suits depends on whether exclusivity or availability matters more to you, and it is worth talking through.
What does a bronze sculpture cost?
Pieces from the workshop collection begin considerably lower. Commissions typically run from £25,000 to £250,000+ over six to twelve months, and landmark installations from £50,000 to £2m+ over as long as eighteen months. Every project value is treated as confidential.
Can you work with our architect or landscape architect?
Yes, and early is better. The studio joins at concept stage so scale, siting, material and engineering are resolved with the scheme rather than retrofitted to it.
First Access to New Works
Receive advance notice of new sculptures, major installations, private events and selected commission opportunities from Charles Elliott Sculpture.