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y separately published work icon Rayner Hoff : The Life of a Sculptor single work   biography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2017... 2017 Rayner Hoff : The Life of a Sculptor
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In the 1920s and 1930s, Rayner Hoff was the most gifted – and controversial – public sculptor in Australia, best known for the sculptures and friezes that adorn Sydney’s Anzac Memorial, including Sacrifice at its centre.

'After moving from London in the early 1920s, Hoff taught at and eventually ran the National Art School. As well as completing the Anzac Memorial sculptures – which generated uproar when the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney opposed two further works planned for the Memorial – he also designed the original Holden lion badge, won the Wynne Prize in 1927, and made firm friends with luminaries like Norman Lindsay, Hugh McCrae and Mary Gilmore.

'This biography tells the story of Hoff’s life and work for the first time, and how he spearheaded an Australian sculpture renaissance and left a mark that is still keenly felt today.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: NewSouth Publishing , 2017 .
      image of person or book cover 1203843977554363320.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 279p.
      Description: illus.
      Note/s:
      • Published March 2017
      ISBN: 9781742248080

Works about this Work

[Review] Rayner Hoff : The Life of a Sculptor Juliette Peers , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , December no. 1 2018; (p. 211-216)

— Review of Rayner Hoff : The Life of a Sculptor Deborah Beck , 2017 single work biography
Holden Hoff Christopher Menz , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 396 2017; (p. 46)

— Review of Rayner Hoff : The Life of a Sculptor Deborah Beck , 2017 single work biography

'Rayner Hoff, the most significant sculptor to work in Australia between the wars, is most admired for his sculptures in the Anzac war memorials in Sydney and Adelaide. His work was in the classical figurative tradition in which he had trained. While never part of the international avant-garde, he remained modern for his era and adapted to the idiom of art deco. Hoff’s work is known to all Australians through a logo depicting a lion with its paw on a ball, which he designed for Holden in Adelaide in 1927. While his name may be unfamiliar to many people, the Holden lion mascot, instantly recognisable even in its modified form, is still in use today. Now ninety, the Holden insignia is one of the great examples of Australian logo branding; at a time when so many cars are indistinguishable, the mascot is still the easiest way to identify a Holden.' (Introduction)

Holden Hoff Christopher Menz , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , November no. 396 2017; (p. 46)

— Review of Rayner Hoff : The Life of a Sculptor Deborah Beck , 2017 single work biography

'Rayner Hoff, the most significant sculptor to work in Australia between the wars, is most admired for his sculptures in the Anzac war memorials in Sydney and Adelaide. His work was in the classical figurative tradition in which he had trained. While never part of the international avant-garde, he remained modern for his era and adapted to the idiom of art deco. Hoff’s work is known to all Australians through a logo depicting a lion with its paw on a ball, which he designed for Holden in Adelaide in 1927. While his name may be unfamiliar to many people, the Holden lion mascot, instantly recognisable even in its modified form, is still in use today. Now ninety, the Holden insignia is one of the great examples of Australian logo branding; at a time when so many cars are indistinguishable, the mascot is still the easiest way to identify a Holden.' (Introduction)

[Review] Rayner Hoff : The Life of a Sculptor Juliette Peers , 2018 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , December no. 1 2018; (p. 211-216)

— Review of Rayner Hoff : The Life of a Sculptor Deborah Beck , 2017 single work biography
Last amended 22 Mar 2017 10:35:28
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