University of Brighton graduate Keziah Burt’s sculpture of King Charles III has been chosen by the Royal Horticultural Society to be featured in the Royal Tribute Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The bust will feature in the RHS Royal Tribute garden designed by Dave Green, an RHS Gold Medal Winner, which will combine the gardening tastes of both the King and the late Queen.
Former secondary school art teacher Keziah completed her teacher training at University of Brighton in 2008. She only left her job as a teacher eight months ago in order to pursue a full-time career as a sculptor.
Keziah said: “It is a real honour to have my work chosen by the Royal Horticultural Society in the year of the King’s Coronation. Dave Green is an award winning garden designer and it has been a delight to work with him.”
The bronze bust is the first sculpture of the new King to be authorised by Buckingham Palace, having been created at a live exhibition on the day that the Queen sadly passed away. Having sculpted the HRH Queen Elizabeth II for the National Army Museum Keziah decided to try her hand at sculpting the then Prince of Wales to keep her hands busy whilst exhibiting more of her work in London at Gallery 54 in Shepherd market.
Keziah continued: “There was never a conscious decision to create this piece, I just enjoy showing people the creative process, and it gives me something to focus on whilst I chat about my work at exhibitions. I decided to create a demonstration and chose Prince Charles as the subject. It was a shock to realise that as the news was announced that our Queen had passed that I was sculpting the new King. Having been granted approval from Buckingham Palace it seemed fitting to finish the piece and make it into a full bronze bust.”
Despite having only been sculpting full time for just over eight months, Keziah is fast becoming the go-to sculptor for famous faces and has recently completed work on HRH Queen Elizabeth II, Alan Titchmarsh (featured on the ITV show Love Your Weekend), Adam Pearson, Rosalind Franklin and Charles Berkeley.
