Michael Rizzello was born in London, England to Italian immigrant parents in 1926, and studied at the Royal College of Art (RCA). During his career he mainly produced bronzes, ranging from large architectural works and public statuary to animalier sculpture, portrait busts, plaques, and medals. He also designed coins for more than 90 countries and served as President of the Royal Society of British Sculptors (PRBS) from 1976 until 1986, for an unprecedented two five-year terms.
Sculptor Michael Gaspard Rizzello was born on 2 February 1926 in London to Italian immigrant parents, Arthur Rizzello, a tailor, and his wife Maria. He grew up in a cultured family and was encouraged as an artist. He also showed a musical inclination and had to decide between pursuing a career as a baritone or to follow his talent for drawing, eventually choosing the latter. Rizzello attended the Oratory Central Boys School in Chelsea, afterwards serving in the army from 1944–48, including in India and the Far East. He subsequently enrolled at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, at the time under the direction of its new principal, Robin Darwin, who brought fresh thinking into the institution and hired new staff to galvanise its teaching. Rizzello trained under renowned sculptor Frank Dobson, who had on his staff a fine draughtsman and animal sculptor, John Skeaping. Although introduced to abstraction at the RCA, Rizzello felt more comfortable with figurative work and declined abstract commissions. He produced a small number of animal sculptures that tended towards abstraction, but remained, in the main, representational. Rizzello graduated in 1950. He was awarded both a Drawing Prize and a Major Travelling Scholarship in sculpture, which enabled him to travel to France and Italy. In 1951 he won the Prix de Rome for Sculpture, extending his studies in Europe by two years. Upon his return to England he set up his studio in Hampstead, north west London, but given the scarcity of commissions in austerity Britain he made ends meet by making wax heads for Madame Tussauds. He then won commissions from the Royal Mint to make portraits for coins and medallions, which would remain an important part of his work for the rest of his life.
Rizzello gained early recognition as a sculptor and was made an Associate of the Royal Society of British Sculptors (RBS) in 1955 and a Fellow (FRBS) in 1961. He mainly produced sculptures moulded and then cast in bronze, rather than carved, an exception being his statue of Sir William Sevenoke at Sevenoaks School in Kent, a 1950s commission, for which he was awarded the Sir Otto Bett Medal for Sculpture in 1961. In 1960 he received his major public commission, a full-size bronze statue of prime minister David Lloyd George (1863-1945) for the Welsh Memorial Fund Committee. The imposing 8ft tall sculpture, depicting Lloyd George in a Tyrolean cloak with his fist raised, was unveiled to general acclaim in 1960 in Cathay Park, Cardiff. In 1965 Rizzello produced the official medal to mark the 900th anniversary of Westminster Abbey, and in 1995 he was commissioned to design the new Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. He went on to make medals, coins, seals, and medallions for more than 90 countries and made the official medal of the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969. He was also appointed as President of the RBS (PRBS) from 1976 until 1986 (for an unprecedented two five-year terms) during which time he promoted public awareness about the contribution which sculpture made to the British art scene at a time when rising costs were shifting the emphasis from traditional materials, such as bronze, to newer ones such as fibreglass. In addition, Rizzello found a permanent home for the society at Dora House at 108 Old Brompton Road, London, SW7. Rizzello was also President of the Society of Portrait Sculptors, Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers, and was appointed OBE in 1977.
Rizzello was prolific until his late years, exhibiting regularly at the annual show at the Royal Academy of Arts, and his oeuvre, often cast by Morris Singer foundry, ranged from large architectural works and public statuary to animalier sculpture (particularly wild animals), portrait busts, and plaques. Among his best-known works are bronze statues in London and the home counties marking the 200th anniversary in 1996 of the birth of the pioneer of vaccinations, Edward Jenner; Nelson Mandela at Trade Union Congress headquarters; a 12-foot high bronze sculpture of a leaping woman, Dancer with Ribbon (1998), inspired by the ballerina Darcey Bussell, for the façade of the Plaza, Oxford Street, London; and a bronze of Lord Taylor of Gosforth, former Lord Chief Justice, unveiled at the Royal Courts of Justice in London in 1999. His plaque to HRH Princess Margaret, at the Royal Opera House in London, was unveiled by HRH Queen Elizabeth II in 2002. A memorial plaque to HRH the Queen Mother was made for St George's Chapel, Windsor, 2003, with another at St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, Norfolk. Michael Rizzello died in London, England on 28 September 2004. His work is represented in UK public collections including the British Museum, Royal Collection Trust, Royal Mint Museum, National Library of Wales, and the Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Michael Rizzello]
Publications related to [Michael Rizzello] in the Ben Uri Library