Tributes have been paid to sculptor Anthony Morrow, creator of Dundee’s famous Desperate Dan statue and Murraygate dragon, who has passed away.
The widely respected sculptor passed away on Friday in Inchture where he lived.
He’ll will be best remembered for his statue of DC Thomson’s Dandy comic character Desperate Dan and faithful pooch, Dawg, which has stood in Dundee’s High Street since 2001.
Much-loved landmarks
In addition his landmark Dragon has adorned Murraygate since 1992, one of many artworks commissioned as part of the Dundee Public Art Programme.
Dragon had originally been planned by Alastair Smart but was taken over by Morrow following Smart’s untimely death.
Commenting on the news, Dundee Culture paid tribute on its Facebook page.
It said: “Sad to hear the passing of Anthony Morrow, who sculpted the Desperate Dan and Dundee Dragon statues.
“His impact on Dundee will be remembered forever.
“Our thoughts go out to his friends and family at this time.”
Many tributes paid
Many took to social media to pay tribute.
WJ Wier, wrote: “Sad to hear of Tony’s passing.
“We shared digs across the Tay at Wormit in first year.
“He was 33 then and I can remember him saying that he always wanted to go to Art school but his dad said you’ll need to get a trade son so he became a mechanic in the fire service.
“His true calling was sculpture.”
Trevor South, added: “So saddened by this news.
“I was at DOJCA with Tony – he was such a talent with true passion.
“He was a superb storyteller and I will always remember his humour and humanity.”
Meanwhile, Irene Donaldson, said: “This is such tragic news.
“I first met Tony when he began his studies as a mature student at DOJCA and we remained good friends ever since.
“Such a sincere and lovable guy with so much talent. He will be sadly missed.”
Mature student
Born on July 20, 1954, Tony Morrow entered Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee as a mature student in 1987.
After completing his studies he stayed on at the college to teach sculpture and life drawing.
As well as creating numerous private sculpture commissions, his works have been exhibited in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery.
His pieces can also be found in private collections in Britain, Australia and the US.
Tony’s famous ‘peh’
In 2016, Tony hit the headlines once more after creating five mini sculptures of Dundee pies and Forfar bridies which were auctioned off in support of the Marie Curie charity.
A year later he created a further one-off ‘peh’, this time carved from wood from the city’s RRS Discovery, which was also auctioned off for the cancer charity.