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

Hilda Seligman

Hilda Seligman

Author and sculptor. Born Hilda Mary McDowell. In the 1930s she entertained both Mahatma Gandhi and Haile Selassie at her home in Wimbledon, and sculpted the bust of Selassie which now stands in Ca...

Person, Benefactor, Literature, Sculpture, India

1 memorial
Benson Sedgwick Engineering Ltd

Benson Sedgwick Engineering Ltd

From their website: Manufacturers and suppliers of various products and services including Sculpture fabrication for the UK's leading artists.

Group, Sculpture

1 memorial
Gary March

Gary March

Local sculptor.

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial
Donald Potter

Donald Potter

Born Donald Steele Potter at Parsonage House, Newington, Kent. He became a permanent member of staff at the Scouting Association's Gilwell Park where he developed his wood carving skills. In the 19...

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Deptford Station

Deptford Station

The oldest working railway station in London. It is on the North Kent line and is built on a high brick viaduct. A new modern station is planned to open close to the current site in 2012.

Place, Transport

1 memorial
Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister 1940 - 45 and 1951 - 55. Born Blenheim Palace, near Woodstock, Oxford, into an aristocratic family. His father was the son of the Duke of Marlborough, and his mother was born in Broo...

Person, Politics & Administration, Race Issues, Seriously Famous

30 memorials