Frank Roper

Frank Roper

The last supper, St.Michael-le-Grand church, York (1968)
Born 12 December 1914
Haworth, Yorkshire, England
Died 3 December 2000 (aged 85)
Nationality British
Spouse(s) Nora Ellison (1918–1999)

Frank Roper (12 December 1914 – 3 December 2000) was a British sculptor and stained-glass artist who undertook commissions for churches and cathedrals across Wales and England.

In addition to religious commissions, Roper created a wide variety of sculptures which were sold privately and to corporate bodies. These included including nudes, bulls and birds, as well as animated sculpture, such as musical fountains and water clocks. Roper was also a potter and a calligrapher.

Biography

Frank Roper was born 12 December 1914 in Haworth, Yorkshire. He studied at Keighley Art School (meeting his future wife, Nora Ellison) and the Royal College of Art, London, where he was a student of Henry Moore.[1][2] In 1947 he became a sculpture lecturer at Cardiff College of Art,[3] later vice principal, remaining there until he retired in 1973. He lived in Penarth and created his own foundry on the ground floor of his house where he made his metal sculptures.[1]

Crucifixion with Mary and John, St German's Church, Cardiff (1965)

Many of Roper's early commissions stemmed from the need to repair places of worship after they had suffered bomb damage during World War II. His major commissions included work on Llandaff Cathedral,[1] Durham Cathedral, St David's Cathedral, Pembrokeshire and Peterborough Cathedral. He created a wall-mounted "Stations of the Cross" (1959) for St Martin's in Roath, "Crucifixion with Mary and John" (1965) outside St German's Church, Adamsdown, Cardiff and an aluminium reredos screen (1968) for St Martin-le-Grand Church in York.[1][4][5] Roper also created engraved and stained glass, for example at St Peter's Church, Chippenham.[6]

Two BBC television programmes were made about Roper, one in 1964[1] and the other in 1976.[7][8] Examples of his secular work can be found in the collections of the National Museum Cardiff and the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.[9]

Roper was awarded the MBE in 1991[10] for his services to art.[1]

He died at the end of 2000.[1] In 2014 an exhibition marking the centenary year of his birth was held at the Travellers Gallery, Barry.[3] A memorial service at Llandaff Cathedral was planned for the centenary date, 12 December 2014.[9]

Notable works

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Crucifixion, Peterborough Cathedral (1974)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Roper.

Ecclesiastical sculpture

Glass

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 Peter Wakelin (11 December 2000). "Frank Roper: Sculptor entranced by ancient subjects and modern materials". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  2. "Frank Roper". Imaging the Bible in Wales database. University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Rebecca Lord (19 August 2014). "Artist Frank Roper remembered in centenary exhibition". Penarth Times. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  4. "The 14 Stations Of The Cross". St Martin in Roath. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  5. "Crucifixion with Mary and John". Imaging the Bible in Wales Database. University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Visit the hidden gems". Gazette & Herald (Wiltshire). 31 August 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  7. "Sculpture and Singing Fountains". Look, Stranger. 21 July 1976. BBC. BBC Two.
  8. "Look, Stranger – Sculptures and Singing Fountains". BBC Genome Project – Radio Times 1923-2009. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Chris Seal (17 November 2014). "Memorial service for Penarth-based sculptor". Penarth Times. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  10. "1991 New Year Honours". Wikipedia (English). Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 11.9 The Roper Exhibition Group, “The Religious Art of Frank Roper: An Introduction”
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 Imaging the Bible in Wales Database - University of Wales Trinity Saint David entries for Frank Roper
  13. "St Andrew’s Church, Parish of Caerphilly". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  14. "Church of the Resurrection". Visit Cardiff Churches. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  15. "Chapel of St Michael’s College". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  16. 16.0 16.1 "Discovering Frank Roper" (PDF). Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, p. 292/4
  18. Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, p. 301
  19. "St Thomas’ Information,". The Methodist Church and St. Thomas' Church, Brompton, Northallerton. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  20. "Chris Stafford photostream". Flickr. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  21. "Catholic Church of St Bernadette, History". St Bernadette Whitchurch. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  22. "Church of St Catwg". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  23. "Church of St Mary’s Magdalen". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  24. "Aidan McRae Thomson photostream". Flickr. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  25. Author unknown. "Frank Roper and St Brendan’s Sixth form College’s Stations of the Cross". Yumpu. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  26. Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, p. 312
  27. Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, p. 334
  28. Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, pp. 145/6
  29. "The Religious Art Of Frank Roper: An introduction (book review)". Church Times. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  30. Lloyd, Thomas; Orbach, Julian; Scourfield, Robert (2006), The Buildings of Wales: Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, Yale University Press, p. 50, ISBN 0-300-10179-1
  31. "Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire". Stained Glass in Wales. University of Wales. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  32. Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, p. 414
  33. "St Martin’s Church, Parish of Caerphilly". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  34. Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, p. 647
  35. "St Mary's, Wenvoe". The Parish of Wenvoe with St Lythans. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  36. Newman, The Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan, p. 449

Sources