Ian Rank-Broadley
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Ian Rank-Broadley (born 1952) is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage.
Born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, Rank-Broadley was educated at Epsom School of Art (1970-74) and Slade School of Fine Art (1974-76) He then completed various post-graduate studies in the United Kingdom, Italy, and France.
In 1997 he won the Royal Mint competition for a new effigy of Elizabeth II to appear on the obverse of circulated British (and some Commonwealth, including Australian and New Zealand) coinage from 1998 onward. In 1998 he also won a Royal Mint competition for his design of the Queen Mother Centennial crown coin. Later he designed the reverse of a five-pound commemorative of the Golden Jubilee which was issued in 2002. His most recent contribution to British coinage is the conjoint portrait of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on the 2007 crown coin, celebrating their sixtieth wedding anniversary. He also designed the reverse of the 2008 £5 coin to celebrate the 60th Birthday of the Prince of Wales. This caused some controversy as the Prince was perceived to be "facing the wrong way" — apparently because of the tradition that each monarch should face the opposite direction from his predecessor — however, the Prince is not yet monarch, so this tradition does not yet apply to him (the last time the tradition was broken was by the uncirculated coinage of Edward VIII).[citation needed] It is the third time Ian Rank-Broadley has designed both the obverse and reverse of a single coin.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rank-Broadley's works are in enormous demand; his Equus 1, a 30 × 32 × 18 cm. bronze statue, was stolen from the Bohun Gallery on 1 January 2003.[citation needed] His works are on display throughout Europe and the US, at such places as the British Museum, London's National Portrait Gallery, the Ashmolean Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and several others.
In 2007, the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum was unveiled containing two large works by Rank-Broadley as part of its centre piece.
A member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors (Associate 1989, Fellow 1994), Rank-Broadley was granted Freedom of the City of London in 1996. He currently resides and works in Gloucestershire.
