Paul Beadle (1917-1992), sculptor, was born in England and studied at the Cambridge Art School and the Central School of Arts and Crafts during the 1930s. He arrived in Australia in 1944 and established a reputation through his tiny, complex bronzes satirising history, literature and politics. He was a founding member of the Society of Sculptors and Associates in Sydney, and taught at the NAS for four years before becoming head of the Newcastle Art School in 1952. Later, for two years, he was principal of the South Australian School of Art. Amongst other commissions, Beadle made the 11-metre high eagle and sphere surmounting the Australian-American Memorial at Canberra's Russell Offices, which was completed at a cost of £100 000 (much of it raised by public subscription) in early 1954. In 1961 he moved to Auckland to take up the position of Chair of Fine Arts at the University's highly regarded Elam school, but remained a design consultant to various Australian bodies.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rex Dupain 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
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