Sculptor and poet. Born Inverurie (Aberdeenshire), MacGillivray was educated in Edinburgh. In 1872, he became an assistant to sculptor William Brodie (1815-81), with whom he remained for six years. Around 1880, he spent two years in the studio of John Mossman in Glasgow. MacGillivray returned to Edinburgh in 1894. He became well-known as a sculptor of portrait busts, monuments and statues and became a regular exhibitor at the Royal Scottish Academy. He was elected an associate in 1892 and a fellow in 1901.
MacGillivray was appointed the Queen's Sculptor in Scotland in 1921. His work is to be found in several British cities, although he is perhaps best known for his statue of Robert Burns at Irvine (1896), of Thomas Carlyle and the Gladstone Memorial in Coates Crescent, Edinburgh (1916). He also produced busts including Carlyle (1889) and painter Joseph Crawhall (1881).
He died in Edinburgh and lies buried at Gogar kirkyard.
