Paul John Beadle (25 November 1917 – 28 December 1992) was a New Zealand sculptor and

medallist A medalist (or medallist) is an artist who designs medals, plaquettes, badges, metal medallions, coins and similar small works in relief in metal. Historically, medalists were typically also involved in producing their designs, and were usually e ...

Early life and training

Born in

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...

, Berkshire, England in 1917, Beadle studied cabinetmaking and building construction at Cambridge Art School for two years before going on to the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...

. He also studied privately under sculptor and carver Alfred Southwick. He went on to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

to study in the studio of Kurt Harald Eisenstein, where his

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

style and leanings began to develop.

World War II

When

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 ...

began, Beadle enlisted in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and served with the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

and the Pacific Fleet until 1943. In 1944 he travelled to Australia as a submariner-artist and stayed there once the war ended working for Australian newspapers and taking up teaching.

Career

In 1950 he became a foundation member of the Society of Sculptors and Associates in Sydney. For six years from 1951, he was the head of the Art School at Newcastle Technical College. He was Principal of the South Australian School of Art 1958–1960 and president of the

Royal South Australian Society of Arts The South Australian Society of Arts was a society for artists in South Australia, later with a royal warrant renamed The Royal South Australian Society of Arts in 1935. History A meeting of persons interested in the formation of a society for the ...

1958–1959. SLNSW 31386 Paul Beadle sculptor

In 1953–1954 he created the stylised American eagle perched upon a bronze sphere surmounting the octagonal tapered column of the

Australian–American Memorial The Australian–American Memorial is in Canberra, the national capital of Australia, and commemorates the help given by the United States during the Pacific War. Background In 1948 the Australian-American Association proposed "to establish a Me ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. In 1961 he moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

to become Professor of Fine Arts at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. Between 1961 and 1975 he was also the Dean of

Elam School of Art The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

. He was the foundation president of the New Zealand Society of Sculptors and Associates in Auckland in 1962. He was also a Fellow of the

and the President of the

New Zealand Society of Industrial Designers The New Zealand Society of Industrial Designers, known as NZSID, formed in 1959, was a professional body for designers in New Zealand. Its membership was multi-disciplinary, representing designers in all branches of design for industry— inter ...

(NZSID). Beadle's sculptural work drew upon influences from the

Hallstatt Culture The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European Archaeological culture, culture of Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe ...

of the early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

, West African Ashanti bronzes and combined these with references to life in modern New Zealand. According to art historian Mark Stocker, Beadle was "New Zealand's foremost internationally recognised medal maker."

Recognition

Beadle has exhibited with the New Zealand art association The Group and the

New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts The New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts (also referred to as the Wellington Art Society) was founded in Wellington in July 1882 as The Fine Arts Association of New Zealand. Founding artists included painters William Beetham (first president of the Ass ...

. His work is included in the collections of the

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

, the

Australian National Gallery The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

and the state galleries of Sydney, Perth and Adelaide.

offers the Paul Beadle Scholarship annually for postgraduate students at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beadle, Paul 1917 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Royal Navy personnel Military personnel from Berkshire People from Hungerford Royal Navy personnel of World War II British expatriates in Australia British emigrants to New Zealand People from Auckland Art educators Academic staff of the University of Auckland 20th-century New Zealand sculptors 20th-century New Zealand male artists New Zealand industrial designers