Willi Soukop

Willi (Wilhelm Josef) Soukop (1907-1995) was born in Vienna. To help support the family, Soukop learned to carve umbrella handles and other ivory objects for a local trader, a task at which he became very skilled. He went on to train at Vienna Academy of Fine Art, as a pupil of Josef Müllner.

In 1934, he took up a chance invitation to Dartington Hall, Devon, which had become a refuge for many artists escaping Nazi persecution, and settled into a flourishing cultural community, where he met his wife, the French dancer Simone Michelle. He had his first solo show in 1939 at the Stafford Gallery in London, followed by a solo sculpture exhibition at Dartington in 1940. Following the introduction of internment for so-called 'enemy aliens', he spent nine months in a Commonwealth interment camp in Canada, before returning to Dartington.

Afterwards, he established a successful sculpture department at Blundell’s School in Devon, before going on to teach in Dorset and Worcestershire. He also taught at Dartington and at Guildford School of Art, where his pupils included Elisabeth Frink, who followed him to Chelsea School of Art. In 1969 Soukop was appointed Master of Sculpture at the Royal Academy schools and exhibited at the Royal Academy on more than 70 occasions. His sculpture was commissioned for many public spaces, including the Elmington Estate in Camberwell, Loughborough University and the University of Hull.

Willi Soukop died in Glasgow. His work is in UK public collections including Abbot Hall, the Ben Uri Collection, the Red House, Aldeburgh, the Royal Academy of Arts, Tate, and the University of South Wales Art collection.