John William Mills PPRBS, ARCA, FRSA

(1933-2023)

John W. Mills was a British sculptor whose career spanned more than seventy-five years and whose public monuments became significant landmarks in Britain. Born in London, he studied at Hammersmith School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design, and Saint Martin’s School of Art, later teaching at Saint Martin’s and the City and Guilds of London Art School. Mills’ work developed through several major phases of public sculpture. In 1966 he completed Tribute to William Blake at Blake House, Soho, the first major expression of his distinctive sculptural style. In 1991 he completed Blitz at St Paul’s Cathedral, the National Memorial to the firefighters who lost their lives during the Second World War. His later Memorial to the Women of World Wars (2005) at the Cenotaph in Whitehall marked a further development in his work, using symbolic non-figurative forms to commemorate the contribution of British women during wartime. Alongside sculpture, John was a talented printmaker and a friend of Stanley Jones for over 20 years. A supporter of the Curwen Print Study Centre, John became a Trustee and Honorary Fellow until his death in 2023.