This bust belonged to William Gillies and entered the RSA Collections as part of the William G Gillies Bequest in 1973. Schilsky taught at Edinburgh College of Art with Gillies and was the Head of the School of Sculpture there from 1945 to 1969. He is quoted as saying ‘I would say that sculpture is the expression of man’s emotions and spiritual aspirations conveyed by and externalised into the language of form, in a concrete medium.’ These words echo with the man he portrays in this bust and so it is no surprise that they connected through their art.