Federation University Art Collection
Sculpture - Bust, Greenhalgh, Victor, Dick Richards by Victor Greenhalgh
Victor GREENHALGH (1900-1983)
Born Australia
Victor Greenhalgh studied at at the Ballarat School of Mines, and was appointed to the staff in 1938. He was the commissioned sculptor for the King George V statue located in Ballarat's Sturt Street Gardens, as well as eight of the portrait busts of Australian Prime Ministers which line the "Avenue of Prime Ministers" in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens. From 1938 he taught at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).
The bust of Dick Richards was Victor Greenhalgh's last work, and was cast after the sculptors death. It was donated to the Ballarat School of Mines by Victor Greenhalgh's wife Violet Greenhalgh (Hambly).
Dick Richards and Victor Greenhalgh were brothers-in-law. Dick Richards was a member of Shackleton's ill-fated Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and was awarded the Albert Medal for his heroic contribution as a member of the Ross Sea Shore party. In 1972 the Albert Medal was exchanged for the more widely recognised George Cross. Speaking at the unveiling of the sculpture in Dick Richards said that on his return fro the expedition in 1917 he had little inclination for a sedentary or a teaching career. By the time he retired in 1958 he was not at all sorry that he had spent his life as a teacher.
Victor Greenhalgh died in Queensland in 1983.
This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 2000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.Bronze bust of Antarctic Explorer and former Principal of the Ballarat School of Mines, Richard W. Richards.art, artwork, dick richards, r.w. richards, richard w. richards, victor greenhalgh, antarctic explorer, alumni, violet greenhalgh, violet hambly, sculpture, staffmember, ballarat technical art school, school of mines ballarat
Expression Australia
Expression Australia
Expression Australia
Federation University Art Collection