Person    | Male  Born 6/4/1921  Died 5/7/2000

Franta Belsky

Categories: Sculpture

Countries: Czechoslovakia

Born Czechoslovakia as Frantisek Belsky. Fled 3 times, twice to escape the Nazis and then again from the Communists. Ornamental Passions we learn that all Belsky's sculptures contain an empty Guinness bottle, the day's newspaper, a sixpence and a note stating that he was the artist.

Other works in London: the 1957 Shell fountain in front of the Shell Building on the South Bank and The Lesson in Bethnal Green.

From Radio Prague International: "He served in the Battle of France, was twice mentioned in the dispatches during the war and saw Winston Churchill at an inspection after the evacuation at Dunkirk. .. After the war, Bělský returned to Czechoslovakia and studied sculpting. However, his studies were disrupted when Bělský escaped Czechoslovakia a second time after the Communist coup d’etat in 1948, but he soon found himself learning again, this time at the Royal College of Art in London. The artist’s first major commission came at the Festival of Britain in 1951. ... Bělský became the official sculptor of the royal family, creating the busts of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as of the princes Philip, William, Andrew and the queen mother."

2023: English Radio CZ has a very informative interview with Bohumil Vostal, the author of a book about Belsky "He Portraited the Queen of England".

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This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Franta Belsky

Creations i

Cunningham bust

Unveiled by Prince Philip in 1967. Inside the bust there is a ½ pint Guinness...

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Mountbatten statue

9 foot 5 inches, bronze on a plinth at the centre of a low stepped platform. ...

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Tattersall's auction yard

This sculpture 'Triga' recalls the racehorses that were bought and sold on th...

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Other Subjects

Denys Mitchell

Denys Mitchell

Sculptor.  Buy Design reports that Mitchell died in August 2015.

Person, Sculpture, Scotland

1 memorial
Joseph Kremer

Joseph Kremer

Sculptor. Born Tromborn France, studied in Paris.  Possibly of German ancestry.  From Mapping Sculpture: Kremer came to England on 25 September 1859. As his first recorded activity is in Penkhull,...

Person, Sculpture, France

7 memorials
Mel Morris Jones

Mel Morris Jones

The picture shows "Mel Morris Jones and Harry Brockway checking for level" but we don't know which is which, and we have to admit, it's not a good picture of either.

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial
T. Metcalfe

T. Metcalfe

Sculptor. Active in 1989.

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Stoke Newington Town Hall

Stoke Newington Town Hall

Designed by the architect J. Reginald Truelove in the art deco style. Its assembly hall became popular with a variety of entertainments. In 1965 Stoke Newington was absorbed into the Borough of Hac...

Building, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Dairy Supply Company Limited

Dairy Supply Company Limited

Establihsed by George Barham in the late 19th century to sell milk-related things, such as the milk churns which Barham had invented.

Group, Commerce, Food & Drink

3 memorials
La Patente church

La Patente church

In 1740 this French Hugeonot church moved into the building in Hanbury Street, with a patent granted by King James II.

Group, Religion, France

2 memorials
English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts,...

Group, Architecture, History, Property

417 memorials
Bedford Charity

Bedford Charity

Created by a gift of land by Sir William Harpur to the corporation of Bedford. A merchant from Bedford he had come to London and done so well that he was Lord Mayor in 1561. The following year he p...

Group, Education

1 memorial