Lasting Impressions

David Landau meets Frances Segelman, sculptor to the stars;

All those suffering ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ withdrawal symptoms should pop into Frances Segelman’s studio for a quick fix.

Not that the Channel 4 series could ever attract such a star-studded line-up. Ratings would surely hit the roof if Prince Philip, Sven Goran Eriksson, Cherie Blair, Vinnie Jones and Bruce Forsyth ever agreed to share their lives together in the colourful TV house.  

Unlikely as it seems; all these A-list celebrities are Frances’s house-mates - in a manner of speaking.

During a brilliant, 25-year sculpting career she has created lifelike busts of these and other top figures from the worlds of royalty, politics and showbiz.

But, inspired by Michelangelo, she left modelling – and her hometown Leeds – behind when she was 20. Self-taught, her speed-sculpting soon caught the imagination of the stars, and it was not long before they were queuing up to enlist in the Segelman Hall Of Fame.

Which is why her Docklands studio is home to HM. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the England football coach, the Prime Minister’s wife, the nation’s favourite gameshow host and many, many others.

It’s positively eerie being surrounded by the great, the good and the notorious – well, Vinnie has based both his soccer and film careers on a somewhat sinister appeal!!

Watching her at work, a cross between Rolf Harris and Rodin, it’s hard not to be – in Sir David Frost’s words – “amazed” by her technique. Working rapidly and instinctively, often before a fascinated crowd of onlookers, she creates striking resemblances of her subjects in just two hours.

“I was always mad about art,” she says. “And after my second child I bought loads of art and human anatomy books. I started by sculpting my husband and it just took off from there.”

She left West Yorkshire  for London where she started a Saturday stall in London’s Portobello Road market selling bric-a-brac and Victorian jewellery. Frances sculpted  as a hobby and one day a local vicar having seen some of her work asked her if she could teach at his community centre - and a legend was born.

According to art critic Estelle Lovatt: “Segelman is as much a magician as a sculptor.” She got on famously with Prince Philip and novelist Jilly Cooper was so impressed she decided to base one of her heroines on Frances.

After sitting for a two-hour session in Groucho’s Jilly said: “Meeting Frances Segelman made me realise that my heroine should be a sculptor. She must embody patience and talent so I am now going to base her on Frances.

“It’s a very sexy and sophisticated profession and she fits this role well. But I can’t base it too much on Frances otherwise she could end up suing me for libel!”

Whilst working on her famous Billy Bremner statue and up to her elbows in clay she received a call from the Duke of Edinburgh's secretary at Buckingham Palace. She was asked to send her portfolio to the palace and sittings with the Duke followed.

“At our first meeting I knew I had to get a likeness in an hour and a half. Initially I didn’t know what to say so I chatted away out of sheer nervousness”.

“But at the third sitting we talked about art. He spoke about his favourite artists and how much he enjoys painting in watercolours.”

Whilst Her Majesty, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have been the most illustrious subjects, possibly her most famous piece is the one seen by millions of football fans over the years – Billy Bremner’s triumphalist statue outside Elland Road, a symbol of Leeds United’s glory days and a monument to the golden age of soccer.

The 9ft-statue, which captures the Scottish legend with his arms outstretched and fists clenched, became an instant icon in West Yorkshire and, just like the Angel of the North, has come to proudly represent one of the country’s most vibrant regions; it’s always the focus of attention when TV cameras visit the ground.

Whether it’s Billy or Brucie, Sven or Cherie, Frances’s aim is always the same – to “bring the person to life by capturing their personality, character, manner and individuality”.

“I want to celebrate their personality through their expressions, how they sit, hold themselves, their powerfulness and gentleness. I want people to see exactly what makes them individual and unique”.

“With celebrities there’s always something that’s made them a celebrity – a magical energy, a determination”.

As one celebrity put it “Frances captures something behind the eyes that makes it come to life”

“Not one of them has been rude so far. In fact they love it. More and more people are asking to get their heads done.”

As to the future, Frances is excited by a number of forthcoming projects on which she remained determinedly tight lipped despite my best efforts!!

Like many others, I can definitely say that Frances Segelman is staying with the stars whilst keeping her feet firmly on the ground.

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