10 Facts About Laurence Bradshaw

Laurence Henderson Bradshaw was an English sculptor, printmaker, and artist.

Laurence Bradshaw is most famous for being the sculptor who created the bust of Karl Marx for the Tomb of Karl Marx in Highgate Cemetery.

Laurence Bradshaw attended Liverpool College of Art and completed his studies in painting and sculpting in London.

Fresh from creating anti-fascist artworks to promote the Spanish International Brigades, Laurence Bradshaw became an official war artist for the Norwegian government during the Second World War.

In 1955, Laurence Bradshaw won the commission to design the Tomb of Karl Marx at his burial place in Highgate Cemetery, which was then unveiled at a ceremony in 1956.

Laurence Bradshaw designed the whole of Marx's monument including the plinth and the calligraphy of the texts on the monument, but did not sign the finished work.

Laurence Bradshaw eventually became the chair of the British Soviet Friendship Society when Andrew Rothstein was the BSFS's president.

Laurence Bradshaw created numerous artworks and illustrations for the BSFS's published materials, including the front cover of their journal in 1970 commemorating Vladimir Lenin.

In 1970 Laurence Bradshaw created an artwork commemorating Lenin in the main hall of the Marx Memorial Library.

Archival information for researchers regarding the life and activities of Laurence Bradshaw can be found at the Henry Moore Institute Archive in Leeds.