Ronald Pope (16 August 1920–14 May 1997) was an English sculptor and artist.

Biography

Pope was born in 1920 and after his studies moved to

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

to work as an engineer. He started at the

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

factory in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

(the largest employer at that time in the city). He was at Rolls-Royce throughout the Second World War as a tool maker, where the engines were built for the

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

aircraft. Pope learnt and gained experience in techniques such as welding and brazing which he exploited later for artistic reasons. After the end of the war he went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to study sculpture at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

with Prof. F. McWilliam. Pope continued studying ceramics afterward at Woolwich Polytechnic with the ceramist Heber Matthews. Pope lived and worked as an artist in

Melbourne, Derbyshire Melbourne () is a market town and civil parish in South Derbyshire, England. It was home to Thomas Cook, and has a street named after him. It is south of Derby and from the River Trent. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was ...

. He was inspired by his love of the countryside, particularly the Derbyshire High Peak, the Derbyshire Dales, the Lake District and Snowdonia. The influence of rock formations can be seen in a number of his sculptures.

Artworks

Pope used various materials for his artwork: wood, stone and metal. Some of his metal works (and some in wood, too) look austere, but this is due to their abstract form. Apart from sculptures, Pope also created paintings and drawings. As an artist, Pope received commissions from churches and from local authorities like Hertford, where he created the "'Five Bishops" sculpture on what was then called Castle Hall to celebrate the 13th

centenary {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

of the first synod at Hertford. Other Pope locations include:

Derby University , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, Ear ...

Derby Cathedral The Cathedral Church of All Saints Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status, to a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of Derby, w ...

, and school commissions he completed for Derby Moor School, Derby School for the Deaf, Curzon Primary and Normanton Junior in Derby, Abingdon High School in

Wigston Wigston, or Wigston Magna, is a town in Leicestershire, England, just south of Leicester on the A5199. It had a population of 32,321 in 2011. Geography Wigston is south of the city of Leicester, at the centre of Leicestershire and the East ...

, architects, private companies, and individuals, including the architect Sir

Basil Spence Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976) was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Moderni ...

, for whom he designed a sculpture at

St Catherine of Siena, Richmond St Catherine of Siena is an Anglican church in the Richmond district of Sheffield in England. History of the parish Historically, Richmond was a sparsely populated area forming the western end of the Handsworth parish. The Woodthorpe estate wa ...

, in Sheffield.David Walker,
English Religious Architecture of the Fifties
' In 2008

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collect ...

held an exhibition of his works entitled "Ronald Pope - Sculpture from the Museums' Collection".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Ronald 1920 births 1997 deaths English sculptors English male sculptors People associated with Derby Museum and Art Gallery Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art 20th-century British sculptors