Irena Sedlecká

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Irena Sedlecká is a Czech sculptor. A Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, she was born in 1928 Plzen, Czechoslovakia. After training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, she was awarded the Lenin Prize for sculpture before fleeing the communist regime in 1967 and coming to Britain. She has sculpted many monumental and bust Portraits including; Freddie Mercury for Queen, now in Montreaux, Switzerland; Beau Brummel in Piccadilly, London and many in private collections. Married several times, lastly to Franta Belsky, sculptor, who died 2000.

Commissioned portrait heads include Laurence Olivier (she also modelled the huge head used for his appearance in Dave Clark's musical TIME at the Dominion Theatre), Donald Sinden, Paul Eddington, Richard Briers, Jimmy Edwards, Bobby Charlton, Lord Litchfield, Sir Frank Whittle. In August 1992 her work was shown at the Czech Embassy in London as part of an exhibition devoted to the work of five distinguished Czech emigré sculptors.