John W. Mills
John William Mills PPRBS ARCA FRSA (4 March 1933 – 24 October 2023) was an English sculptor. He studied at Hammersmith School of Art, 1947–54, and at the Royal College of Art, 1956–60. He was a resident at Digswell House 1962–66, before living at Hinxworth Place in Hertfordshire.
Also recorded as John William Mills
John W. Mills

Txllxt · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- John W.
- Born
- 4 March 1933
- Birthplace
- Balham, London, England
- Birth Name
- John William Mills
- Died
- 24 October 2023 (aged 90)
- Occupation
- Sculptor, author
- Spouse
- Josephine Mills
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Education
- Royal College of Art
- Honours
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
John William Mills PPRBS ARCA FRSA (4 March 1933 – 24 October 2023) was an English sculptor. He studied at Hammersmith School of Art, 1947–54, and at the Royal College of Art, 1956–60. He was a resident at Digswell House 1962–66, before living at Hinxworth Place in Hertfordshire.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
John W. Mills (1933–2023) was a British sculptor. The sculptor was born in Balham.
John W. Mills studied at Royal College of Art. The sculptor lived in Hinxworth Place.
Languages used include English. John W. Mills received Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for John W. Mills. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q14217844
In this article
Biography
Biography
Mills died on 24 October 2023, at the age of 90.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — John W. Mills • Born — 4 March 1933 • Birthplace — Balham, London, England • Birth Name — John William Mills • Died — 24 October 2023 (aged 90) • Occupation — Sculptor, author • Spouse — Josephine Mills • Children — 2
Work in public places
Work in public places
• Illustration — Monument to the Women of World War II Whitehall London. • Illustration — Three Kings. Hinxworth Place. • William Blake Memorial (Blake House, London) • Blitz the National Firefighters Memorial (South side of St. Paul's Cathedral, London) • London River Man (Isle of Dogs, London) • John Jorrocks (Croydon, London) • Family Outing (Thames Centre, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, England) • Brothers (University Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA) • Swimmers (Cambridge swimming pool, Cambridge, England) • Diver (Eastern Michigan University, USA) • St George (Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans, USA) • Degas Dancing (La Cabaña Restaurant, Buenos Aires, Argentina) • Thoughtful Girl (Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA) • The Thrower (Ernest Bevin School, Tooting, London) • Boy With Cat (Highfields, Hemel Hempstead, England) • Lion (Ward Freeman School, Buntingford, Hertfordshire, England) • The Unicorn and Wellcome (Wellcome Foundation, Beckenham, Kent, England) • Road Research (Road Research Laboratories, Crowthorne, England) • The Risen Christ, St Mary's Church, Ashwell, Hertfordshire, England) • Sir Thomas Sopwith (Brooklands Museum, Brooklands, England) • Sir Lawrence Bragg, (The Royal Institution, London) • Jackie Milburn Memorial (Ashington, Northumberland, England) • The Meeting, Harpur Square, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England • Chinese Reference, Harlow, Essex, England (Tesco Site) • Quadriga, fountain Charleston Place Hotel, Charleston, South Carolina, USA • Time, Cavendish Hotel (Chatsworth House Estate) Derbyshire, England • The Risen Christ, Church of Great St Mary, Sawbridgeworth, Essex, England • Campus Thoughts, University College Northampton, England • Memorial to Alan Turing, University of Surrey, Guildford, England • Lion and the Unicorn and Digitalis, William Harvey Centre, Charterhouse Square, London • Monument to the Women of World War II Whitehall, London
Competitions
Competitions
• Winner of the design competition for 'The Topham Trophy' 1961 and 1962. • Winner of the RBS silver medal in 1991 for 'Blitz'. • Winner of the Royal Mint design competition for the 'D-Day fifty pence coin 1993'. • Winner of the Royal Mint design competition for the 'VE Day two pound coin 1994'. • Winner of the Royal Mint design competition for the Euro Cup two pound coin 1995. • Winner of the Coin of the Year award (Krause Publications) for the D-Day fifty pence 1994. • Winner of the Royal Mint design competition for the Euro Cent, British entry for the European Competition 1996. • Winner of the Royal Mint design competition for the 25th anniversary of the our entry into the Common Market fifty pence coin 1997. • Winner of the Royal Mint design competition for the 50th anniversary of DNA Double helix two pound coin.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Hinxworth Place
Residences
Balham.
Birth place
Published works
• Sculpture in Ciment Fondu, 1958 (Contractors Record, London). • The Technique of Sculpture 1962 (B.T.Batsford, London). • Sculpture in Concrete, 1966 (McClaren, London). • The Technique of Casting for Sculpture 1968 (B.T.Batsford, London). • Studio Bronze Casting 1969 (McClaren, London), this book was written in collaboration with Michael Gillespie ARBS. • Modelling the Figure and Head 1978 (B.T.Batsford, London). • Encyclopaedia of Sculpture Techniques 1989 (B.T.Batsford, London). • Catalogue contribution for Chelsea Harbour 93 (RBS) 1993. • Sculpture 108, Contributed article 'What I didn't learn at Art School' Spring issue 1997 • Sculpting the Human Figure 2006 (Crowood Press)
Teaching
Various part-time teaching posts in UK from 1958 to 1962: • Full-time at St. Albans School of Art and Hertfordshire College of Art and Design, 1962–77 • Visiting Associate Professor in Printmaking and Sculpture, Eastern Michigan University, 1970–71 • Visiting lecturer Detroit School of Creative Arts, 1970–71 • Visiting Professor and Artist in Residence University of Michigan, 1980.
Awards
• Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors, 1982 • Otto Beit medal, Royal British Society of Sculptors, 1983 (for the sculpture 'Curved Neck Grace') • President of the Society, 1986, and again in 1997 • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, 1993 • Honorary Master of Arts, University College Northampton, 2000
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Sculpture
6,174 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- John SteellArtist
- John T. ScottArtist
- John TakawiraArtist
- John Talbott DonoghueArtist
- John WallaceArtist
- John Warrington WoodArtist
- John WatersArtist
- John WeaverArtist
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by John W. Mills?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.