Nicholas Dimbleby

Nicholas Dimbleby (8 August 1946 – 10 February 2024) was a British sculptor.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Dimbleby was born in Sussex, England, the third of four children to broadcaster Richard Dimbleby and his wife, Dilys (née Thomas).^[3][4] He grew up on a farm and experienced mild dyslexia and acute astigmatism, which influenced his interest in sculpture.^[3][5]

Dimbleby received his early education from Cranleigh School and later studied sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art and later attended Goldsmiths College.^[3][4]

Career

Dimbleby began his career as an assistant to abstract sculptor William Pye in London.^[3][4] After briefly living in rural France, he returned to the UK and established a studio in Devon, where he settled permanently.^[3] He worked on public and private projects, including portraits of sports personalities such as rugby player Jonny Wilkinson and rower Steve Redgrave.^[3] He also produced private commissions for the British royal family, including a lifecast of Lady Louise Windsor for her parents, Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and several pieces commissioned by King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales.^[3] He also created sculpture of Captain Cook on High Green, Great Ayton.^[6]

Other major public sculptures by Dimbleby included a memorial for his father Richard Dimbleby, unveiled at Westminster Abbey in 1990, and a memorial commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians in 2022 honoring doctors who died during the COVID-19 pandemic, unveiled by Professor Sir Chris Whitty.^[3]

Personal life

Dimbleby married Kay, a music teacher, in 1971.^[4] The couple had four children and lived in a manor house in Clyst Hydon, Devon, initially co-owned with his brother Jonathan. Following his youngest daughter's leukemia diagnosis in 1990, his wife Kay shifted from teaching to textile and quilt design.^[3]

Dimbleby was diagnosed with motor neurone disease later in life and died on 10 February 2024, aged 77.^[3]