Paul John Beadle (25 November 1917 – 28 December 1992) was a New Zealand sculptor and

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

Early life and training

Born in

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 5,869. The Kennet and Avon Can ...

, Berkshire, England in 1917, Beadle studied cabinetmaking and building construction at Cambridge Art School for two years before going on to the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School ...

. He also studied privately under sculptor and carver Alfred Southwick. He went on to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

to study in the studio of Kurt Harald Isenstein, where his

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

style and leanings began to develop.

World War II

When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began, Beadle enlisted in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

(1940), and served with the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

and the Pacific Fleet until 1943. In 1944 he travelled to Australia in the Submarine Service as a submariner-artist—staff artist for the ''Pacific Post'', Daily Newspaper of the British Pacific Fleet, Fleet Publications (1945). Following the war and discharge in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

(1946) he stayed on in Australia, working for Australian newspapers and taking up teaching—

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts ...

, East Sydney (1947).

Career

In 1950 he became a foundation member of the Society of Sculptors and Associates in Sydney. For six years from 1951, he was the head of the Art School at Newcastle Technical College. He was Principal of the

South Australian School of Art The South Australian School of Art, originally the South Australian School of Design, is now part school the University of South Australia. it is part of UniSA Creative, which includes the disciplines of architecture and planning; art and desig ...

1958–1960 and president of the

Royal South Australian Society of Arts The South Australian Society of Arts was a society for artists in South Australia, later with a royal warrant renamed The Royal South Australian Society of Arts in 1935. History A meeting of persons interested in the formation of a society for th ...

1958–1959. SLNSW 31386 Paul Beadle sculptor

In 1953–1954 he created the stylised American eagle perched upon a bronze sphere surmounting the octagonal tapered column of the

Australian–American Memorial The Australian–American Memorial is in Canberra, the national capital of Australia, and commemorates the help given by the United States during the Pacific War. Background In 1948 the Australian-American Association proposed "to establish a Me ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. In 1961 he moved to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

to become Professor of Fine Arts at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. Between 1961 and 1975 he was also the Dean of

Elam School of Art The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. It offered the first Bachelor of Fine Arts programme in New Zealand starting in 1967. Students ...

. He was the foundation president of the New Zealand Society of Sculptors and Associates in Auckland in 1962. He was also a Fellow of the

, president of the

New Zealand Society of Industrial Designers The New Zealand Society of Industrial Designers, known as NZSID, formed in 1959, was a professional body for designers in New Zealand. Its membership was multi-disciplinary, representing designers in all branches of design for industry— inter ...

(NZSID) from 1962 to 1963 and vice-president of the Design Association of New Zealand (DANZ) from 1963. Beadle's sculptural work drew upon influences from the

Hallstatt Culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallst ...

of the early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, West African Ashanti bronzes and combined these with references to life in modern New Zealand. According to art historian Mark Stocker, Beadle was "New Zealand's foremost internationally recognised medal maker."

Recognition

Beadle has exhibited with the New Zealand art association The Group and the

New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (also referred to as the Wellington Art Society) was founded in Wellington in July 1882 as The Fine Arts Association of New Zealand. Founding artists included painters William Beetham (first president of the As ...

. His work is included in the collections of the

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

, the

Australian National Gallery The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

and the state galleries of Sydney, Perth and Adelaide.

offers the Paul Beadle Scholarship annually for postgraduate students at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beadle, Paul 1917 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Royal Navy personnel Military personnel from Berkshire People from Hungerford Royal Navy personnel of World War II British expatriates in Australia British emigrants to New Zealand Artists from Auckland New Zealand art educators Academic staff of the University of Auckland 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand male artists New Zealand industrial designers