![Nella Last](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Nella_Last.jpg)
Clifford Frank Last
OBE (13 December 1918 – 20 October 1991) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
, the son of
Nella Last
Nella Last (née Nellie Lord; 4 October 1889 – 22 June 1968) was an English homemaker, housewife who lived in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England. She wrote a diary for the Mass Observation Archive from 1939 until 1966 making it one of t ...
, author of a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
diary on which the TV film ''
Housewife, 49
''Housewife, 49'' is a 2006 television film based on the wartime diaries of Nella Last. Written by and starring English actress and comedian Victoria Wood, it follows the experiences of an ordinary housewife and mother in the Northern English t ...
'' was based.
Early life
Clifford Last was the younger son of Nella and William Last,
shopfitter
Shop fitting (shopfitting) is the trade of fitting out retail and service Retailing, shops and Retailing, stores with equipment, fixtures and fittings. The trade applies to all kinds of outlets from small corner shops to hypermarkets. A shop fitte ...
in
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He had an older brother, Arthur. After war service in which he lost his closest companion and was injured himself, he trained in art and emigrated to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 1947, becoming a noted sculptor. Some of his works are displayed in the National Gallery of Australia and the
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest and largest regional art gallery in Australia. Established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by the citizens of Ballarat, both the building and part of its collection is listed on the Victorian H ...
in the
State
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
Centre Five group
Last was a foundation member of Centre Five, a group formed in 1960 to promote contemporary abstract sculpture in Australia. The group, originally called Centre Four, was founded in 1953 by
Hungarian-born Julius Kane, featuring Last,
Norma Redpath and
German-born Inge King
Ingeborg Viktoria "Inge" King (; 26 November 1915 – 23 April 2016) was a German-born Australian sculptor. She received many significant public commissions. Her work is held in public and private collections. Her best known work is ''Forward S ...
. Centre Five was a splinter group of the Victorian Sculptors' Society comprising members Clifford Last,
Inge King
Ingeborg Viktoria "Inge" King (; 26 November 1915 – 23 April 2016) was a German-born Australian sculptor. She received many significant public commissions. Her work is held in public and private collections. Her best known work is ''Forward S ...
, Vincas Jomantas,
Teisutis Zikaras
Teisutis 'Joe' Zikaras (often spelled "Tesutis") (5 July 1922 – 10 May 1991) was an Australian sculptor born in Panevėžys, Lithuania. He earned a diploma at the School of Fine Arts, Kaunas, Lithuania, where his father Juozas Zikaras, Juozas, ...
, Julius Kane and
Lenton Parr
Thomas Lenton Parr AM (11 September 1924 – 8 August 2003) was an Australian sculptor and teacher .
Sculptor
Born in East Coburg, Victoria, Lenton Parr spent eight years in the Royal Australian Air Force (Svc No. A33223) before enrolling to st ...
. They shared common characteristics in their style and felt that exhibiting together would be to their advantage. Their aim was to foster the understanding of modern sculpture among Australian architects and the public.
The project was problematic in that they had resigned from the Victorian Sculptors' Society and in effect set themselves up as competition. The result was a severe split in the very small sculpture world of the time, the repercussions of which are still felt today. Due to the nature of the split, the Society – formed to promote the work of members – missed out on official consideration. Last later was a member of the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board.
Work
Materials with which Last worked included bronze, slate, wood and aluminium. Using wood as his favoured medium, Last furthered his studies at the
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia.
Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...
. After he spent fourteen months back in England in 1950–1951, Last's work took on a more geometrical form. He explored the use of shapes that he believed demonstrated the emotions existing in family groups and then explored subjects such as
dualism and
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
through the manipulation of religious references and symbols.
Last preferred the work to speak for itself and, unless asked, opted not to go into detail.
He carved wood such as
Jarrah
''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...
, using, for example, the
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described ...
shape in relativistic relationships which left interpretation open. One such form could refer to animals, plants, icons, people or groups.
A fine example of his large-scale bronzes entitled "Family" was commissioned by the
Government of Australia
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...
, in 1971, as an official gift to the international organization,
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
, which displays it in its headquarters in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
.
References
Further reading
*Max Dimmack, ''Clifford Last'', Melbourne, Hawthorn Press. 1972. Monograph on Australian sculptor.
*Geoffrey Edwards, Noel Hutchison, Brett Lockwood (editor), ''Clifford Last Sculpture, A Retrospective Exhibition – 23 November 1989 – 29 January 1990'', Catalogue, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1989.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last, Clifford
1918 births
1991 deaths
English sculptors
English male sculptors
Modern sculptors
People from Barrow-in-Furness
British emigrants to Australia
20th-century British sculptors