Background
Reginald Cotterell Butler was born on April 28, 1913 in Buntingford, Hertford, United Kingdom.
Reginald Cotterell Butler was born on April 28, 1913 in Buntingford, Hertford, United Kingdom.
Butler studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London during the period from 1937 to 1939.
During the Second World War, Butler was a conscientious objector, who was exempted from military service conditional upon setting up a small blacksmith business repairing farm implements.
Butler became one of the best known sculptors during the 1950s and 1960s after winning the "Unknown Political Prisoner" competition in 1953. His later work is sometimes derided and consists of lifelike models of female figures, such as Girl on a Round Base, that have something in common with Hans Bellmer and the sculpture of Allen Jones and prefigure the work of Ron Mueck.
During his lifetime, Reg Butler also lectured at the Slade School of Art.
