Golden Lives Never Forgotten: Nic Joly

In August 2014, Nic Joly used his mastery of miniature sculpture to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One. Using the ultimate symbol of remembrance, the poppy, he created a piece entitled ‘Never Forgotten’. 

Nic’s initial inspiration came from a deeply poignant meeting with a 96-year-old war veteran who talked Nic through not only his own experiences in World War II, but also those of his father in World War I. In that moment, past and present combined and history was no longer a chain of events in dusty text books; for Nic, it became “all so real, and so relevant”. With humbling nonchalance, the veteran uttered these courageous words: “We were just doing our job.”

Castle Fine Art has donated £100 from the sale of each 'Never Forgotten' to support Nic in his goal of raising £150,000 for The Royal British Legion, and the total raised stands at over £80,000 and counting. 

Coming full circle, Nic chose to mark the end of World War I by releasing a follow-up to 'Never Forgotten', the theme of which reminds us that all of the lives lost during the the four years of war from 1914-1918 were golden, and should be honoured to this day. 'Golden Lives Never Forgotten' was launched on Friday 2nd November as an edition of only 11 pieces, and the first ten artworks sold out within a record three hours! 

The eleventh and final piece from the edition was auctioned as part of Nic's ongoing fundraising for The Royal British Legion - raising an incredible £3,200!