{{short description|New Zealand sculptor}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}} {{Infobox artist | name = | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1907 | birth_place = England | death_date = 8 March 1993 | death_place = Christchurch, New Zealand | residence = | movement = | spouse = | awards = | patrons = | field = Sculpture | training = Academy of Florence | works = Tabernacle Screen Doors, Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch }}
'''Ria Bancroft''' (1907 – 8 March 1993) was a British-New Zealand artist born in England.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://findnzartists.org.nz/artist/698/|title=Bancroft, Ria|website=findnzartists.org.nz|language=en|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> She created the Tabernacle Screen Doors for Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch and her works are held in several New Zealand art galleries.
== Background == Born in England in 1907, as an adult she moved to Canada to work as a television designer and display artist. She moved Italy in the 1960s to study art,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/sculpture/artists/ria_bancroft.shtml|title=Ria Bancroft – Sculpture Trail – University of Canterbury|website=www.canterbury.ac.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> receiving a Diploma from the Academy of Florence.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/exhibitions/ria-bancroft-three-decades-of-sculpture|title=Ria Bancroft: Three Decades of Sculpture|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> She moved to New Zealand in 1962, joining her daughter Peb Simmons in Christchurch. Bancroft died on 8 March 1993 in Christchurch, New Zealand.<ref name=":0" />
== Career == After studying art in Italy, it was only after moving to New Zealand that Bancroft began to focus on her sculpture work. Her work often included religious subjects.<ref name=":0" />
Bancroft became a member of the Canterbury Society of Arts<ref name=":0" /> and exhibited with The Group<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://findnzartists.org.nz/artists/exhibition/3/|title=Artists exhibited with The Group|website=findnzartists.org.nz|language=en|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/heritage/publications/art/thegroup/bibliography/|title=The Group 1927 – 1977: an annotated bibliography – Heritage – Christchurch City Libraries|website=christchurchcitylibraries.com|language=en|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> in 1963,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1963|title=The Group 1963|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1965,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1965|title=The Group 1965|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1966,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1966|title=The Group 1966|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1967,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1967|title=The Group 1967|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1968,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1968|title=The Group 1968|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1969,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1969|title=The Group 1969|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1973,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1973|title=The Group 1973|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1974,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1974|title=The Group 1974|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1975,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1975|title=The Group 1975|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> 1976,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1976|title=The Group 1976|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> and 1977.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/the-group/group-1977|title=The Group 1977|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> In 1964 she was invited to join the New Zealand Society of Sculptors.<ref name=":0" /> During this time she also exhibited with the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://findnzartists.org.nz/artists/exhibition/4/|title=Artists exhibited with New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts|website=findnzartists.org.nz|language=en|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Portrait of a Century: The History of the N.Z. Academy of Fine Arts, 1882–1982|last1=Kay|first1=Robin|last2=Eden|first2=Tony|publisher=Millwood Press|year=1983|isbn=0908582609}}</ref>
After receiving recognition for her work, Bancroft became increasingly involved in art education and delivered a number of talks and lectures. In 1971 she accepted a position as art teacher at Xavier College, a boys' High School. In 1974 she resigned the position to focus on her art.<ref name=":0" />
In addition to her public works, notable works by Ban include ''Rocking Horse'' (1963)<ref name=":1" /> and ''Unicycle No 2''.<ref name=":0" /> Her final piece, a life size portrait of the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, was completed in 1992.<ref name=":0" />
In 1998 the Robert McDougall Art Gallery held a posthumous exhibition of Bancroft's work entitled, ''Ria Bancroft: Three Decades of Sculpture''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/library/publications/ria-bancroft-three-decades-of-sculpture|title=Ria Bancroft: Three Decades of Sculpture|last=Robert MacDougall Art Gallery|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> A biography of her life, ''No Ordinary Woman: A Biography of Ria Bancroft'', was written by her daughter Peb Simmons and published in 1997.<ref>{{Cite book|title=No Ordinary Woman: A Biography of Ria Bancroft|last=Simmons|first=Peggy|publisher=David Bateman Ltd|year=1997|isbn=1869533623}}</ref>
Her work is held in the collection of the Suter Te Aratoi O Whakatū gallery<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/account/3001/object/3183/rocking-horse-ride|title=Rocking Horse Ride|website=www.nzmuseums.co.nz|language=en-gb|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref> and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/collection/79-463|title=Resurrection Tabernacle screen doors (Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament)|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref>
=== Public works === Bancroft received many public commissions in New Zealand including: * ''Horizon'' – her first major commission, for the Christchurch City Council in 1965, it incorporated in the design of the new 'Horizon' restaurant at Christchurch International Airport<ref name=":0" /> * ''Forms'' – 9-metre-long mural, made in collaboration with Pat Mulcahy, for the Ministry of Works and was incorporated in the design of the University of Canterbury's new Science Lecture Hall<ref name=":0" /> * mural for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation building in Rotorua, created in 1966 in collaboration with Pat Mulcahy<ref name=":0" /> * a maquette "Angel of St Matthew" – for Saint Matthew’s Catholic Church in 1967<ref name=":3" /> * the Tabernacle Screen Doors for Christchurch’s Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in 1975, opened 12 June 1977<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=English, Colonial, Modern and Maori: The Changing Faces of the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1932–2002|last=Crighton|first=Anna|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|year=2014|isbn=978-1443871693}}</ref> * ''Thy Kingdom Come'' – commissioned for the Holy Cross Chapel in Christchurch in the 1970s<ref name=":0" /> * ‘Christus Rex’ memorial cross for All Saints' Church in Dunedin – completed in 1990<ref name=":0" /> Her work, ''Energetic Forms, 1965–1966'', created with Pat Mulcahy is included in the University of Canterbury sculpture trail.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/sculpture/sculptures/energeticforms.shtml|title=Ria Bancroft and Pat Mulcahy, Energetic Forms – Sculpture Trail – University of Canterbury|website=www.canterbury.ac.nz|access-date=19 October 2017}}</ref>
In the 1980s she assisted in the refurbishment of St Mary’s Catholic church in New Brighton (where she attended) with sculptor Bing Dawe. In addition to work on the altar, lectern, font, and sanctuary, Bancroft created and gifted a sculpture of the Virgin Mary to the church.<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== Further reading == Artist files for Ria Bancroft are held at: * [http://findnzartists.org.nz/artists/artist-file/11/ Angela Morton Collection, Takapuna Library] * [http://findnzartists.org.nz/artists/artist-file/1/ E. H. McCormick Research Library, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki] * [http://findnzartists.org.nz/artists/artist-file/2/ Robert and Barbara Stewart Library and Archives, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu] * [http://findnzartists.org.nz/artists/artist-file/3/ Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hākena] * [http://findnzartists.org.nz/artists/artist-file/4/ Te Aka Matua Research Library, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa] Also see: * [http://findnzartists.org.nz/artists/publication/9/ Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists] McGahey, Kate (2000) Gilt Edge
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, Ria}} Category:1907 births Category:1983 deaths Category:Artists from Christchurch Category:New Zealand sculptors Category:New Zealand women artists Category:People associated with the Canterbury Society of Arts Category:People associated with The Group (New Zealand art)