Raymond Boultwood Ewers (20 August 1917 – 5 June 1998) was an Australian

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

,Australian War Memorial: https://www.awm.gov.au/people/artist_profiles/ewers.asp best known for his sculpture ''Australian Serviceman'' in the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

sculpture garden in

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 ...

.Australian War Memorial:
Collection Record, ID ART40995
'. Retrieved 2008-04-25. Ewers was born in

Wyalong Wyalong is part of the Bland Shire located in the Northern Riverina Region of New South Wales, Australia. Established as a gold mining town, it is now a quiet town with historic buildings a few kilometres east of West Wyalong, the major distric ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. He worked as a jackaroo before he entered the Working Men's College in Melbourne (nowadays the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

), where he studied from 1936 to 1940. William Leslie Bowles chose him as his assistant. During

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 ...

, Ewers enlisted as a

sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

in the Australian Imperial Force in 1941. Upon recommendation by Bowles, he was transferred and made an official war artist with the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. From 1943 until 1958, Ewers produced 32

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

s depicting war scenes. He also worked together with Bowles on the statues of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

and of

John Monash General (Australia), General Sir John Monash (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the World War I, First World War. He commanded the 13th Brigade (Australia), 13th Infantry Brigade befor ...

, and produced until the 1960s 22 statues of his own design for the War Memorial. His ''Australian Serviceman'' was originally placed in the Hall of Memory, where it was displayed from 1958 until 1993, when it was moved to the sculpture garden. He was a member of

Victorian Sculptors' Society The Victorian Sculptors' Society was an arts organisation formed in Victoria, Australia in 1948. History The society had two predecessors: *The Yarra Sculptors' Society was founded in 1898 by Margaret Baskerville and her husband Douglas Richards ...

and its president in 1954. Ewers was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in the

1995 Australia Day Honours The 1995 Australia Day Honours are appointments Australian honours system, to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1995 by the Governor General of Australia, Bil ...

for his "service to the arts, particularly as a sculptor".

References

External links

Australian modern sculptors RMIT University alumni 1917 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Australian sculptors Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian military personnel of World War II Artists from New South Wales Military personnel from New South Wales Australian war artists {{Oceania-sculptor-stub