Richard Oliver Gross (10 January 1882 – 27 December 1964) was a New Zealand farmer and sculptor.

Life and career

He was born in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England, on 10 January 1882. He moved to New Zealand in 1914. Gross sculpted the following works: * The figure of Endeavour on the Auckland Grammar School war memorial, Auckland. * The figure of Sacrifice on the Cambridge war memorial. * The lion at the base of the Dunedin cenotaph. * The fountain at the National War Memorial carillon, Wellington. * The bronze frieze around the Havelock North memorial. * The stone frieze on the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland. * Elements on the Wellington cenotaph include the two panels of a call-to-arms relief and the equestrian figure on top, the 'Will to Peace'. After the Second World War, Gross added the bronze lions to the cenotaph. * The Athlete and The Swan on the Domain gates, Auckland. * The marble memorial to the Labour leader Harry Holland, in the Bolton Street cemetery, Wellington. * The Davis Memorial Fountain at Mission Bay, Auckland. * The bronze Maori chief for the One Tree Hill memorial, Auckland. * The figure of love and justice for the memorial to Michael Joseph Savage at Bastion Point, Auckland.

Honours and awards

In the 1938 King's Birthday Honours, Gross was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

, in recognition of his services as a sculptor. In 1953, he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

References

1882 births 1964 deaths 20th-century New Zealand farmers English emigrants to New Zealand People from Barrow-in-Furness 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand male artists New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George {{NewZealand-artist-stub