Biography

George Maccallum’s early, in-depth understanding of human anatomy seems to have come from working as an assistant to anatomist Dr John Goodsir at the University of Edinburgh. Maccallum was a pupil of William Brodie and may have joined the studio of sculptor Alexander Handyside Ritchie before setting up on his own. He exhibited works, mostly portrait busts, at the Royal Scottish Academy every year from 1860 until his unexpected death at the age of twenty-eight. He also worked on Robert Rowand Anderson’s Memorial to the 78th Highlanders at Edinburgh Castle and supplied sculptures for architect David Bryce’s redecoration of the Great Hall of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh. At his death, Maccallum was working on the group representing the working class for the Scottish National Memorial to the Prince Consort in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh.