Josephine Alys Hermes de Vasconcellos MBE

Other names: Mrs Delmar Banner

Born 26 October 1904
Died 20 July 2005

Active: 1920 - 1954

Country of birth and death: England

Sculptor

She was born in Molesey, Surrey, and was the only child of Hippolyto de Vasconcellos, a Brazilian diplomat and Freda Coleman, an English Quaker.

She began her studies at Bournemouth Art School, and then attended Regent Street Polytechnic, London where she was taught by Harold Brownsword. In 1923 de Vasconcellos was awarded a Bronze Medal for Design in Sculpture. She then studied in Florence under Guido Calore and Libero Andreotti before enrolling in the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, where she was taught by Antoine Bourdelle. On her return to England, de Vasconcellos enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools.

From 1926, she exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and began to establish a successful practice as a portraitist. Among de Vasconcellos's many subjects were Lord Denning, Edith Sitwell, Roger Bannister, Norman Nicholson, General Sir William Platt, James Cameron and, in perspex, Tenzing Norgay. In 1953, she was one of the founder members of the Society of Portrait Sculptors.

de Vasconcellos received many large-scale commissions for sculptures sited in churches and cathedrals throughout Britain. These included a life-size nativity group for St. Martin-in-the-Fields which is placed in Trafalgar Square at Christmas. She also completed a number of memorials and monuments, among them the 'Prince Of Peace' (Aldershot, 1950); 'The Last Chimera' (Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh, 1950); and 'The Hand' (war memorial at St Bees' School, Cumbria, 1955). However, de Vasconcellos's most important public work was 'Reconciliation' (originally called 'Reunion'). This was made for the University of Bradford, and she was awarded an honorary DLitt at the time of the unveiling in 1977. Bronze casts of 'Reconciliation' were subsequently installed in Coventry Cathedral, Hiroshima Peace Park (1995), the Chapel of Reconciliation at the former Berlin Wall, and at Stormont in Belfast.

In addition to regular showings at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and Royal Society of Portraitists annual exhibition, de Vasconcellos's work was also displayed at Lambeth Palace during the Festival of Britain (1951), in the London County Council's 'Sculpture in the Open Air' exhibition (Battersea Park, 1960), and in Manchester Cathedral (1991).

In 1930 de Vasconcellos married the painter and Anglican lay preacher, Delmar Banner (1896-1983). After a difficult start owing to Banner's homosexuality, they settled into a companionate marriage. Their work was exhibited jointly in London (1947 and 1954) and in Bradford (1987). In 1939 de Vasconcellos and Banner settled permanently in Cumbria, and in 1985 de Vasconcellos was awarded an MBE for services to the local community.

For further information about her practice see the obituaries by Linda Clifford in 'The Guardian' (21 July 2005), and Margaret Lewis in 'The Independent' (8 July 2005). There is also an article on Wikipedia, and photographs of her work at ArtUK. All available online (all accessed 2 October 2021):
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/jul/21/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/josefina-de-vasconcellos-300707.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josefina_de_Vasconcellos
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:de-vasconcellos-josefina-19042005/page/2

Citing this record

'Josephine Alys Hermes de Vasconcellos MBE', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib6_1214315622, accessed 29 May 2023]