Michael Gaspard Rizzello (2 April 1926 – 28 September 2004) was a sculptor and designer.

Biography

Rizzello was born in London of Italian parents. His father was a tailor. He attended the

London Oratory School The London Oratory School, also known as "The Oratory" or "The London Oratory" to distinguish it from other schools, is a Catholic Church, Catholic Secondary school#United Kingdom, secondary school for boys aged 7–18 and girls aged 16–18 in W ...

and did not want to follow his father's profession. He enlisted in the army in 1944, and was demobbed in 1948. He was a good baritone singer and had to choose between music and drawing; he chose the latter. He attended the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...

winning both the Drawing Prize and Travelling Scholarship in Sculpture. This led to him studying sculpture in Rome for two years, and he was awarded the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

1951 for Sculpture. He began his career making wax heads for

Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer ...

Rizzello served an unprecedented term of two five-year periods as President of the

Royal Society of British Sculptors The Royal Society of Sculptors is a British charity established in 1905 which promotes excellence in the art and practice of sculpture. Its headquarters are a centre for contemporary sculpture on Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London. It ...

. His public statuary includes ''Dancer with Ribbon'' in Oxford Street, London (the Plaza, the old Bourne & Hollingsworth). His

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

stands in

Cathays Park Cathays Park ( cy, Parc Cathays) or Cardiff Civic Centre is a civic centre area in the city centre of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, consisting of a number of early 20th century buildings and a central park area, Alexandra Gardens. It ...

, Cardiff, and other portrait busts include

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

. His 1996 bronze portrait of

Lady Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

is in the Speakers' House of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

in London. Rizzello also designed coins and medals, including the

Conspicuous Gallantry Cross The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) is a second level military decoration of the British Armed Forces. Created in 1993 and first awarded in 1995, it was instituted after a review of the British honours system to remove distinctions of rank in ...

and the

£2 coin The British two pound (£2) coin is a denomination of sterling coinage. Its obverse has featured the profile of Queen Elizabeth II since the coin’s introduction. Three different portraits of the Queen have been used, with the current design by ...

commemorating the 50th anniversary of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

, both in 1995. Rizzello was made an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours The 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours were announced on 11 June 1977 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee and Birthday in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Mauritius, Fiji, the Bahamas, Grenada, and ...

list. He died in London, England. A posthumous exhibition of his work was shown in the

Mall Galleries Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India ...

in April 2005. He married Sheila Maguire in 1950; she died in 2002. They had one daughter, who survived them.

References

External links

Rizzello's Dancer with Ribbon, photo of in blogpost

Michael Rizzello, Coin Designer
at ''World of Coins''. Includes portrait of Rizzello and images of several of his coin designs. 1926 births 2004 deaths 20th-century British sculptors 20th-century English male artists Alumni of the Royal College of Art English male sculptors English people of Italian descent Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at London Oratory School Prix de Rome winners Sculptors from London {{UK-sculptor-stub