Ian Agrell

Ian Agrell began modeling clay as a child at the encouragement of his parents. This love of working in three dimensions led him to first study woodcarving in 1961. Twenty years later, Ian was elected to the Master Carvers Association, a prestigious society of wood and stone carvers in the United Kingdom.In 1986, Ian moved to the United States to take on larger residential projects and to teach classical carving. Since then he and his team have been honored with commissions including Fulham Palace, Hampton Court, the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament, the Utah Governor’s Mansion and a throne for Pope Saint John Paul.After twenty years of partnering with Merritt on large high-end residential projects, Agrell Architectural Carving was acquired and now operates as Merritt’s in-house classical decoration team.Ian oversees all classical decoration operations for Merritt as well as staff training and program development.Ian is passionate about maintaining the art of classical woodcarving and to ensure the future of these unique skills, thirty years ago he founded the School of Classical Woodcarving where he teaches several classes each year.