Ria Bancroft (1907 – 8 March 1993) was a British-New Zealand artist born in England. She created the Tabernacle Screen Doors for Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

and her works are held in several New Zealand art galleries.

Background

Born in England in 1907, as an adult she moved to Canada to work as a television designer and display artist. She moved Italy in the 1960s to study art, receiving a Diploma from the Academy of Florence. She moved to New Zealand in 1962, joining her daughter Peb Simmons in Christchurch. Bancroft died on 8 March 1993 in

, New Zealand.

Career

After studying art in Italy, it was only after moving to New Zealand that Bancroft began to focus on her sculpture work. Her work often included religious subjects. Bancroft became a member of the Canterbury Society of Arts and exhibited with The Group in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977. In 1964 she was invited to join the New Zealand Society of Sculptors. During this time she also exhibited with 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 ...

After receiving recognition for her work, Bancroft became increasingly involved in art education and delivered a number of talks and lectures. In 1971 she accepted a position as art teacher at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. The ...

, a boys' High School. In 1974 she resigned the position to focus on her art. In addition to her public works, notable works by Ban include ''Rocking Horse'' (1963) and ''Unicycle No 2''. Her final piece, a life size portrait of the Russian writer

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag prison system. He was a ...

, was completed in 1992. In 1998 the

Robert McDougall Art Gallery The Robert McDougall Art Gallery is a heritage building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was designed by Edward Armstrong and it opened in 1932. It is a Category I heritage building listed with Heritage New Zealand and is located within the Chr ...

held a posthumous exhibition of Bancroft's work entitled, ''Ria Bancroft: Three Decades of Sculpture''. A biography of her life, ''No Ordinary Woman: A Biography of Ria Bancroft'', was written by her daughter Peb Simmons and published in 1997. Her work is held in the collection of the Suter Te Aratoi O Whakatū gallery and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu.

Public works

Bancroft received many public commissions in New Zealand including: * ''Horizon'' – her first major commission, for the Christchurch City Council in 1965, it incorporated in the design of the new 'Horizon' restaurant at

Christchurch International Airport Christchurch Airport is an international airport serving Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Harewood, New Zealand, Harewood. Christchurch (Harewood) Airport officially opened on 18 M ...

* ''Forms'' – 9-metre-long mural, made in collaboration with Pat Mulcahy, for the Ministry of Works and was incorporated in the design of the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

's new Science Lecture Hall * mural for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation building in Rotorua, created in 1966 in collaboration with Pat Mulcahy * a maquette "Angel of St Matthew" – for Saint Matthew’s Catholic Church in 1967 * the Tabernacle Screen Doors for Christchurch’s Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in 1975, opened 12 June 1977 * ''Thy Kingdom Come'' – commissioned for the Holy Cross Chapel in Christchurch in the 1970s * ‘Christus Rex’ memorial cross for All Saints' Church in Dunedin – completed in 1990 Her work, ''Energetic Forms, 1965–1966'', created with Pat Mulcahy is included in the University of Canterbury sculpture trail. In the 1980s she assisted in the refurbishment of St Mary’s Catholic church in New Brighton (where she attended) with sculptor Bing Dawe. In addition to work on the altar, lectern, font, and sanctuary, Bancroft created and gifted a sculpture of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

to the church.

Background

Career

Public works

References

Further reading