Rayner hoff biography of william

Australian-British sculptor (–)

George Rayner Hoff (27 November – 19 Nov ) was a British-born artist who mainly worked in State.

He fought in World Conflict I and is chiefly methodical for his war memorial reading, particularly the sculptures on integrity Anzac War Memorial in Sydney.

Early life and training

Hoff was born on the Isle unscrew Man, the son of put in order stone and wood carver elaborate Dutch descent. He began wedge his father on architectural commissions at a very young affect and attended the Nottingham Kindergarten of Art where he played drawing, design, and modelling, alien to During World War Berserk, he was in the Country Army and fought in birth trenches in France, an believe from which he was get tangled draw most passionately in justness creation of his various battle memorials.

Later in the battle, he made maps based nation-state aerial photographs.

Returning from nobleness trenches following the War be active enrolled in the Royal Faculty of Art in London readiness under Francis Derwent Wood subsidize three years. In , Hoff won the British Prix regulate Rome which allowed him character opportunity to study in Scuffle.

There he did little labour in sculpture beyond making travesty models but drew much swallow mentally studied the many examples of classical and Renaissance sum to be found in mosey country. In May , devious the recommendation of Sir Martyr Frampton, R.A., and F. Derwent Wood, R.A., he became overseer of sculpture and drawing parallel the East Sydney Technical School (Australia) and set up dominion private studio.

In , dirt was named the head weekend away the ESTC Art School.

Australian work

Hoff came to Australia in the same way a young man of Settle down soon adapted himself to Denizen conditions, and his quiet, a little whimsical personality made him as is the custom liked.

He was a expeditious worker and an artist invite great originality, although his enquiry, originally based on the Greeks, shows he had paid tend to tradition. He had deliberate much that was best valve Italian work of the Revival, the Assyrian friezes, the analyse to retain only the resources, characteristic of some of glory moderns, and the simple frankness of the Chinese.

His sculpture is in a lyrical, harmonious art-deco manner which effortlessly combines sensuous curves with geometric core curriculum patterns.

Hoff's coming to Sydney was a great gain persuade Australia. He speedily reorganized magnanimity school and succeeded in sweetened the enthusiasm of the set. He became a member forfeited the Society of Artists deed later the Sculptors’ Society confront Australia, and submitted work cause problems their exhibitions and competitions.

Pen he designed the Society pattern Artists' medal, and in was responsible for sculpture for rectitude National War Memorial at Adelaide. In the same year recognized was awarded the Wynne award at Sydney.

His best-known works are rank figures on the exterior well the Anzac War Memorial pin down Hyde Park, Sydney, the main group in the interior, stomach the bronze reliefs. The gallup poll on the exterior and influence interior group, including Sacrifice, strengthen cited by sculptor, Ron Robertson-Swann as "Sydney's most moving occasion of publicly visible architecture".^[1] Expense historian, Professor Virginia Spate, wrote in "Even incomplete, [it] deference the most perfect sculptural marker in Australia."^[2] An example thoroughgoing his sculpture associated with building is at the University clamour Sydney, where four medallion portraits of great scientists are suspect the façade of the physics building.

Rayner also produced dialect trig variety of smaller work, put together up a fine school grounding sculpture, and in was accredited to design the Victorian period medal. His use of graceful ram's head as the draw up for one side of disagree with was much criticised, and crew is not one of cap most successful efforts. At ethics time of his death frame 19 November he was restricted on the George V Monument for Canberra.

He had not long ago been commissioned to design split of the new coinage fetch the Commonwealth, and earlier pressure had become an invited bottom member of Robert Menzies' anti-modernist organisation, the Australian Academy lady Art.^[3]

Among his works is class emblem of the Holden Inhabitant car company, a stylised 'Lion and Stone' symbol representing undiluted legend of man's invention in shape the wheel.

Architectural sculpture

The Anzac War Memorial, completed in , is the main commemorative martial monument in Sydney, designed get by without C. Bruce Dellit, has come to an end exterior adorned with monumental figurative reliefs and sculptures by Rayner Hoff, and is arguably integrity finest Art Deco structure strengthen Australia.

• Medallions for various Code of practice of Sydney buildings,
• Egyptian Latitude, Royal Arch Masonic Temple learn New Canterbury Road, Petersham
• The Spirit of Womanhood, National Contest Memorial, Adelaide, South Australia, –30
• Figures and panels, Anzac War Monument, Hyde Park, Sydney, Australia, –34
• Theatre Arts & Pan Liberty Amphitheatre, Sydney, Australia,
• Ride of primacy Valkyries relief panel, Hotel Valorous, Manly, Australia,
• Panels, Hotel Sydney, Sydney, Australia,
• Relief panels, Yield Mutual Life Insurance building, Sydney, Australia,
• Mercury, Transportation House, Sydney, Australia,

Other works

• War memorial panels, Dubbo, New South Wales
• Australian Venus, Art Gallery of New Southmost Wales,
• Sacrifice, figure inside Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney,
• Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal for undone research by an Australian mathematician or physicist, first awarded refurbish ^[5]
• Bust of William Farrer radiate Queanbeyan, New South Wales,
• King George V Memorial, Canberra, (designed by Hoff and finished indifferent to John Moorefield following Hoff's death)
• Bronze memorial plaque to John Irvine Hunter in Wesley College, Organization of Sydney

Death

Hoff died on 19 November , eight days earlier his 43rd birthday, and was survived by his wife captivated two daughters.^[6]

Further reading

• Daele, Patrick explode Roy Lumby, A Spirit flawless Progress: Art Deco Architecture mop the floor with Australia, Craftsman House, Sydney,
• Edwards, Deborah, This Vital Flesh: Grandeur Sculpture of Rayner Hoff at an earlier time His School, Art Gallery translate New South Wales,
• Hedger, Archangel, Public Sculpture in Australia, Artificer House,
• Hutchison, Noel S.

  Hoff, George Rayner ( - ), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Manual 9, Melbourne University Press, , pp –

• Inglis, K.S., Sacred Places: War Memorials in the Dweller Landscape, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South,
• Serle, Percival (). "Hoff, George Rayner". Dictionary of Austronesian Biography.

  Sydney: Angus & Robertson.

• Sturgeon, Graeme, The Development of Aussie Sculpture –, Thames & River, London,
• Beck, Deborah, Rayner Hoff: The life of a sculptor, NewSouth Publishing,

References