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".

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...

Read More

Mountbatten statue

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

Read More

Tattersall's auction yard

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

Read More

Other Subjects

Donato Barcaglia
1 memorial
Cecil Thomas

Cecil Thomas

Sculptor and medalist.  Born 24 Hedley Road, Shepherd's Bush.  Many commissions for the Royal Mint.  Other work in London: the Tubby Clayton and  Alfred Henry Forster tombs (effectively horizontal ...

Person, Sculpture

3 memorials
Louise Soloway

Louise Soloway

Sculptor.  Born and educated in London.  The picture shows her at the Mendoza unveiling in 2008.  See Topic Asia for more information.

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial
Peter Hills

Peter Hills

We have found no information about this sculptor.

Person, Sculpture

2 memorials