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Gill, Claude Arundel

Born in England in 1895, Claude Arundel Gill was a woodcarver and sculptor who made furniture and other items. Among his most notable works are a lectern and two chairs which were built for the Abbey at Iona.


Claude first came to Arran in the 1940’s as he was commissioned to do woodcarvings on the staircases of the new wooden house, Greyholme, at the foot of the Rosaburn in Brodick. A student of the the furniture designer Robert “Mouseman” Thompson, Claude was invited specially by the architect William Gibson to work on his private home due to his avid interest in Celtic motifs and imagery.


Together with his wife Jill, Claude stayed on Arran and bought the St Columba’s church building in Whiting Bay where they set up a workshop in 1954. This featured in Scotland's Magazine in 1956, and also in National Geographic Magazine in June 1964. Claude died in 1983. Jill and he had three sons, Michael, Stephen and Nicky, all of whom worked at the Gallery and pursued their own artistic careers on Arran. 


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