The Black Prince

There is a very interesting story behind the creation of the Black Prince.

Judy was approached to create the sculpture for Dransfield Properties development in Morpeth. They wanted to show an Aberdeen Angus bull, as the new project was sited on the former market for the Borders, where the black bulls had traditionally been sold. Judy found a suitable subject to observe and draw. He was, as she points out, somewhat disconcerted to be separated from his herd while he was being drawn! Judy faithfully followed the plans, but as you will see, the original small maquette faces the opposite way from the full size one in situ. There is a reason for this: the dimensions of the building were changed midway through project. There was no time for the sculpture to be remade from the start, and so Judy completed the project scaling up the maquette as usual, but this time as a mirror image. Apparently, she just about managed to retain her sanity, although it did test her welding skills to the limit! The finished piece looks so natural in setting that it is hard to believe that this challenge ever happened. Another testament to Judy’s meticulous artistic skills. As Mark Dransfield puts it:

“We are delighted with the superb Aberdeen Angus Bull – known as the Black Prince – that Judy created for us at Sanderson Arcade in Morpeth. She has such a passion for her work and the research and attention to detail that goes into producing a piece is just fantastic. Sanderson Arcade was opened in November 2009 by Joanna Lumley OBE who chose the name for the sculpture in honour of one of her ancestors who bred the very first Aberdeen Angus Bull. The Black Prince is placed on a specially made canopy and he overlooks the Arcade rather majestically. It is always lovely to see and hear people stopping and commenting on the sculpture.”

Mark Dransfield
Managing Director, Dransfield Properties

To find out more about the Commissioning process please Click Here.