Weasel

Upton studied at Birmingham College of Art under William Bloye, Clifford Webb, Noel Spencer and Ernest Dinkel. With the sculptor Alan Bridgwater he was an occasional assistant to Bloye, then the partnership of Bridgwater & Upton of Harborne was formed which operated 1937-1946. Their joint work can be seen at Dudley Police Headquarters, Worcestershire, where Upton carved the wooden doors in a deliberately naïve style in emulation of medieval craftsmen. In 1946 the partnership dissolved and Upton became Head of Sculpture at Portsmouth College of Art, retiring in 1975. Other works by Upton are in St Swithin’s School, Southsea; Titchfield Parish Church, Hampshire and Bristol City Art Gallery holds an example of his work. He was elected an Associate of the Royal West of England Academy in 1952, a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1965 and in 1973 gained the International Award for Sculpture in Biarritz. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Sculptors and Paris Salon.