Not many artists can claim to sell work to the British Royal family. Even fewer have sold more than one piece.
Yet Edward Waites, who is not yet 26 years of age, has sold two bronze horse sculptures to them. Of course the Royal family and the Queen particularly, are enthralled by horse racing; the Queen owns Estimate which won the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.
“The Queen bought one of my horse sculptures as a gift to give to a member of the Royal family,” reveals Edward. “The Duke bought one of my horse sculptures to give to the Queen.”
With this remarkable achievement under his belt the young sculptor still remains firmly grounded, down to earth and approachable.
Edward, who lives just five miles from Newmarket, draws much inspiration for his work from the famous racecourse and has been commissioned to sculpt Dubawi who is owned by Sheikh Mohammed and stands at Darley Stud. Dubawi has a stud fee of £100,000.
“My sculptures are incredibly time consuming,” explains Edward, who first produces a clay mould. “Once I have made the mould the foundry then casts it and that can take months but I hope to have the bronze of Dubawi ready in June.”
www.edwardwaites.com
