Background
MEADOWS, Bernard was born on February 19, 1915 in Norwich. Son of W. A. F. Meadows and E. M. Meadows.
MEADOWS, Bernard was born on February 19, 1915 in Norwich. Son of W. A. F. Meadows and E. M. Meadows.
He was educated at the City of Norwich School and Norwich School of Art and became Henry Moore"s first assistant.
of Sculpture, Battersea Park, London 1952, 1960, 1963, 1966, Paris 1956, Holland Park 1957, Antwerp 1953, 1959, Arnhem 1958, British Pavilion, Brussels 1958, Sao Paulo Bienal 1958, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh 1959-1961; one-man exhibitions London and New York since 1957; works in Tate Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum and collections in Europe, America and AustraliaMeadows was part of the Geometry of Fear school, a loose-knit group of British sculptors whose prominence was established at the 1952 Venice Biennale. In the Second World War he initially registered as a conscientious objector, but when Germany invaded the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics in 1941 he withdrew his objection. He was called up to the Royal Air Force and served in the Cocos Islands.
After the war he found acclaim.
His Elm figure for the 1951 Festival of Britain went to the Tate. He exhibited at the Venice Biennale a year later.
He exhibited from New York City to Tokyo and produced a stream of public and private art in Britain and beyond. His edgy pieces often based on animals and seemingly carved from shrapnel could imply Cold War menace.
But teaching commitments came at the expense of his own work.
He returned to assist Moore from 1977 and continued to help his mentor"s estate. He became Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art London between 1960 and 1980. Meadows" work titled Public Sculpture, a controversial assembly of stone blocks and balls of dripping and dimpled metal, was commissioned for the Eastern Daily Press in 1968 at Prospect House, Norwich.
The sculpture is on permanent display outside the building together with prints and drawings in the Prospect House foyer.
Also on display an illustrated panel telling the story of Bernard Meadows and Public Sculpture.
Royal Fine Art Commission 76.
Married Marjorie Winifred Payne in 1939.