The life and work of a famous Manx-born sculptor who became a figurehead artist on the other side of the world will be remembered at a special lecture next week.

Rayner Hoff will be the subject of a presentation at the Manx Museum on Wednesday, September 19, from 6.30pm.

George Rayner Hoff came to national prominence in Australia in the aftermath of the First World War, after he was commissioned to create a number of war memorials.

He was born in Braddan in 1894 to George Hoff, a stone mason of Dutch descent and his Manx mother, Elizabeth Coole.

Rayner moved with his family to Nottingham, where he studied drawing, sculpture, and design at Nottingham School of Art.

Following the outbreak of war, Rayner served with the British Army during the First World War, and saw action in the trenches of northern France, before enrolling with the topographical survey unit and made maps from aerial photographs until the end of the war.

modelling

After the war, he studied at the Royal College of Art, London and, following a period of months studying sculpture in Naples, he moved to Sydney, Australia to teach drawing and modelling in 1923.

This led to the period in which he cemented his name as a leading name in world sculpture, creating the ring of statues of soldiers, the frieze and the bronze statue of a dead warrior, entitled ’The Sacrifice’, for the huge ANZAC war memorial, at Hyde Park, Sydney. He also created memorials in Dubbo, and in Adelaide.

During this time he also established the first school of sculpture in Australia, later became a member of the Society of Artists and the head of art at the National Art School.

In 1934 Hoff was commissioned to design the Victorian centenary medal.

memorial

However he died at the age of 43, while working on a memorial for George V.

Curator of social history at Manx National Heritage, Yvonne Cresswell, said that Hoff deserves to recognised both in Australia and also in the Isle of Man.

’The name Rayner Hoff may have been unknown in the Isle of Man until fairly recently, but he is a Manx-born artist and sculptor of whom the island can be rightly proud,’ said Yvonne.

’In his adopted country of Australia, many people will probably recognise his work even if they are not aware of his name.

’He is considered one of the most important Australian sculptors and his striking and dramatic work has been and is still revered by sculptors around the world.

’Sadly though, Rayner Hoff’s impact on 20th century sculpture would have been probably far greater, if not for his premature death in 1937.

’It is difficult to imagine what he might have achieved if he had lived and worked longer and the international reputation he might have gained but his surviving work provides a glimpse of that artistic genius - a genius that is now being recognised in the land of his birth.’ The lecture on Hoff will be presented by biographer Deborah Beck , who wrote the book ’Rayner Hoff - The Life of a Sculptor’.

The lecture coincides with the launch of a range of six stamps, produced by the Isle of Man post office, which will celebrate Hoff’s work.

Tickets are £10, from manxnationalheritage.im