Angela Conner

In her early life as a sculptor, Conner assisted Barbara Hepworth.{{cite web|url=http://www.debretts.co.uk/people/biographies/browse/c/15218/Angela%20Mary%20(Mrs%20Bulmer)+CONNER.aspx|title=Angela Conner Authorised Biography – Debrett's People of Today|work=debretts.co.uk}}{{Dead link|date=September 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} She works in a wide range of materials including marble, steel, stone and perspex, with many of her sculptures incorporating water as an integral feature.{{Cite book|title=British sculptors of the twentieth century|date=2002|publisher=Ashgate|others=Windsor, Alan.|isbn=1-85928-456-6|location=Burlington, VT|oclc=50091596}} Conner's kinetic sculptures are concerned with utilizing "natural elements like water, sun, gravity or wind to create mobiles that entice viewers to stop and watch their gentle movement".{{cite web|url=http://www.angelaconner.co.uk/biography.html|title=Angela Conner Sculptor|work=angelaconner.co.uk}} The movement of Conner's sculptures entirely depend on the natural forces they react with and not electricity. "If mankind were suddenly to die out, and if as a result there were no artificial power, the sculpture would still continue its pattern of opening and revealing, then closing and embracing"Rob Cassy garden designer describing 'Revelation'; declared one of England's best water features by Country Life magazine.http://www.countrylife.co.uk/article/78233/Go-With-the-Flow.html{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}File:Revelation Sculpture.jpg]]

Unfortunately, despite claims that her sculptures would still continue to function sans human life, in reality electricity powers her sculptures and they are connected to a water utility rather than a spring or artesian well.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} In her long career, Conner has created many notable large scale kinetic sculptures which are entirely powered by natural forces. Conner's 129 ft water and wind sculpture 'Wave'{{cite news|website=bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC News|date= 2 October 2003 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3158924.stm|title=Giant moving sculpture unveiled: Europe's tallest moving sculpture - Irish Wave - has been unveiled in Dublin by its creator|accessdate= 25 August 2011}} at Park West Dublin is possibly the tallest kinetic water and wind sculpture in Europe.File:Irish Wave at Park West in Dublin.jpgFile:Rising Universe (Shelley Fountain) - geograph.org.uk - 657948.jpg (Shelley Fountain) in Horsham, West Sussex, a kinetic water sculpture by Angela Conner, since demolished]]

Conner is also well known for her enigmatic figurative work modeled from life, which "on an intimate and personal level probe the character behind the mask".{{cite web|url=http://www.herefordshirelife.co.uk/people/sculptor_angela_conner_of_monnington_court_herefordshire_1_1865661|title=Sculptor Angela Conner of Monnington Court, Herefordshire|work=Herefordshire Life|accessdate=14 July 2014}} Conner has created posthumous portraits, but prefers to work from life, -"working from life is a form, perhaps, of an osmosis. It has to be done by instinct; its not something you can do intellectually." Chatsworth House has a collection of 14 bronze busts located in the grounds, including portraits of Lucian Freud, the Eleventh Duke of Devonshire, Harold Macmillan, Roy Strong, HRH the Prince of Wales, Camilla Parker-Bowles and John Betjeman.{{cite web|url=http://www.chatsworth.org/collections/the-devonshire-collection/bronze-busts-by-angela-conner|title=Bronze busts by Angela Conner|work=chatsworth.org|access-date=24 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817041957/http://www.chatsworth.org/collections/the-devonshire-collection/bronze-busts-by-angela-conner|archive-date=17 August 2011|url-status=dead}} Conner was commissioned to sculpt from life Queen Elizabeth II by the Knights of the Garter to mark the Queen's 80th birthday.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/apr/14/uknews2.mainsection1|title=Maev Kennedy: People|author=Maev Kennedy|work=The Guardian|date=13 April 2006 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article1072650.ece/|title=The Times – UK News, World News and Opinion|work=The Times|access-date=25 August 2011}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/bust-is-best-3l3cmk86dhz|title=Bust is best|work=The Times}} Conner's statue of Laurence Olivier playing Hamlet was commissioned to celebrate the centenary of his birth and is located on the South Bank opposite the Royal National Theatre.

In 1982 Conner created a memorial fountain to honour those repatriated as a result of the Yalta Conference following World War II. These were Russian and Eastern European people who were forcibly repatriated to the USSR, often facing torture and execution. The first memorial from 1982 was a tilting water sculpture made of Hopton Stone, located on the north side of Thurloe Square opposite the Vicitoria and Albert Museum. It was repeatedly damaged, so Connor raised funds for a second memorial, Twelve Responses to Tragedy, which was dedicated in 1986. The monument stands in the Yalta Memorial Garden in South Kensington.{{cite web|url=https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/140490|title=Communist Victims/Twelve Responses to Tragedy|publisher=War Memorials Online|accessdate=30 January 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dXsLAAAAIBAJ&pg=5493,531761&dq=angela-conner&hl=en|title=Kingman Daily Miner – Google News Archive Search|work=Kingman Daily Miner|accessdate=25 August 2011}}

She has work in a number of US public collections including the Jewish Museum, New York and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Her work Quartet, for Heinx Hall Plaza Pittsburg, uses the weight of water flowing to make the four stainless steel shapes move in a regular rhythm. File:Twelve Responses to Tragedy by Angela Conner - geograph.org.uk - 1651869.jpg memorial.]]

• 'Revelation', Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}
• Rising Universe, also known as Cosmic Cycle or the Shelley Fountain, Horsham, West Sussex, England (demolished 2016)
• 'Big Tipper', Bad Driburg Spa Gardens, Germany
• 'Libra', Lovells, London
• 'Wave', Park West, Dublin, Ireland
• 'Threshold', Darlington Arts Centre, Darlington, County Durham, England
• 'Arpeggio', Heinz Hall Plaza, Pittsburgh, USA
• 'Life Force', Boughton House, Northamptonshire, England.
• 'Poise', Chesterfield, England; Park West, Ireland; Chattanooga, USA
• 'Tipping Triangles', Aston University, Birmingham, England
• 'Renaissance', Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, England

• Queen Elizabeth II, Commissioned by the Knights of the Garter for The Queen's 80th birthday
• Laurence Olivier Statue, National Theatre, South Bank, London File:Statue of Laurence Olivier, South Bank, London.jpg for the centenary of Olivier's birth

File:Abraham Lincoln statue by Angela Conner.jpg statue by Angela Conner at the American Museum and Gardens in Bath]]

• The Queen Mother, Cheltenham Racecourse{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2846171.stm|title=UK – England – Queen Mother statue unveiled|date=13 March 2003|publisher=BBC}}
• Charles de Gaulle, Carlton Gardens, London{{cite web|url=http://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/de-gaulle-statue|title=de Gaulle statue|work=London Remembers}}
• David Stirling, Doune, Scotland, and Hereford, England{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1391748/Hush-hush-tribute-to-SAS-founder.html|title=Hush-hush tribute to SAS founder|date=22 April 2002|work=The Daily Telegraph}}
• Elisabeth Frink, Bronze Head, Chatsworth House
• Abraham Lincoln, bronze head, American Museum and Gardens near Bath, Somerset
• Noël Coward Statue, at Firefly Estate, Jamaica
• Roy Strong
• Collections 14 of Angela Conner's Bronze Busts{{cite web|url=http://www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/art-archives/art-and-archives-collections/collection/sculpture/bronze-busts|title=Portrait busts at Chatsworth|website=chatsworth.org|access-date=25 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220064527/http://www.chatsworth.org/attractions-and-events/art-archives/art-and-archives-collections/collection/sculpture/bronze-busts%7ctitle=Collection%7cwork=chatsworth.org|archive-date=2016-12-20|url-status=dead}} at Chatsworth House

• American Museum and Gardens, near Bath 2018 {{Cite web|url=http://www.angelaconner.com/face-to-face-with-angela-conner-opens-at-american-museum-and-gardens/|title=Angela Conner Sculptor » Face to Face with Angela Conner opens at American Museum and Gardens|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-08}}
• Galerie Piece Unique, Paris 2008
• Inner Temple Gardens, Embankment, London 2004
• 'The Chaos Factor', Browse and Darby, London 1989{{cite web|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL10672593W/Angela_Conner|title=Angela Conner (Open Library)|work=openlibrary.org}}
• 'Sculptures for Landscape', Browse and Darby, London 1986{{cite web|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL10672594W/Sculptures_for_landscape|title=Sculptures for landscape (Open Library)|work=openlibrary.org}}
• Hirschl Gallery, Cork St, London
• Library and Museum of the Performing Arts, Lincoln Centre, New York 1971
• The Economist Plaza, London

• Sculpture in the Garden 2014: 'The Visionary Landscape of Professor Sir Robert Burgess', Leicester University 2014{{cite web|url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/botanic-garden/events-1/sculpture2014 |title=Sculpture in the Garden |publisher=University of Leicester |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725131338/http://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/botanic-garden/events-1/sculpture2014 |archivedate=25 July 2014 }}
• 'Elemental', Burghley Sculpture Garden 2014{{cite web|url=http://www.burghley.co.uk/about-burghley/gardens-deer-park/sculpture-garden/|title=Burghley House|website=burghley.co.uk}}
• 'A Celebration of Modern British Sculpture' Beaux Arts Gallery, Cork St, London 2012{{cite web|url=http://www.eyesin.com/blog/2012/06/18/a-celebration-of-modern-british-sculpture/ |title=A Celebration of Modern British Sculpture | Art | EYES IN |accessdate=18 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728020317/http://www.eyesin.com/blog/2012/06/18/a-celebration-of-modern-british-sculpture/ |archivedate=28 July 2014 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.isendyouthis.com/exhibitions.aspx?id=117872&$2|title=Summer Exhibition 2012 – A Celebration of Modern British Sculpture at Beaux Arts|work=isendyouthis.com}}{{cite web|url=http://www.shift.jp.org/en/archives/2012/08/modern_british_sculpture.html|title=SHIFT – HAPPENING – A CELEBRATION: MODERN BRITISH SCULPTURE|work=SHIFT}}
• The Jerwood Collection, Ragley Hall 2011{{cite web|url=http://www.jerwoodsculpture.org/?lid=2397%7ctitle=jerwoodsculpture.org%7cwork=jerwoodsculpture.org%7ctitle=jerwoodsculpture.org%7cwork=jerwoodsculpture.org|title=jerwoodsculpture.org}}{{cite web|url=http://www.redditchadvertiser.co.uk/news/alcester/9084740.New_pieces_for_Jerwood_Sculpture_Park/|title=New pieces for Jerwood Sculpture Park|work=Redditch Advertiser|date=15 June 2011 }}

• Kinetic Art Organisation{{cite web|url=http://www.kinetic-art.org/|title=Home|work=kinetic-art.org|access-date=18 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060110112226/http://www.kinetic-art.org/|archive-date=10 January 2006|url-status=dead}} Award 1st Prize
• Allianz Business 2 Art Award for Wave sculpture in West Park, Dublin, Ireland{{cite web | url=https://www.businesstoarts.ie/awards/ | title=Recent }}
• American Institute of Architects, Honor Award for Sculpture and Co-design of Plaza Garden, Heinz Hall Pittsburgh U.S.A. 1985
• British Council Award for Refurbishment to Town Centre
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors (FRSS){{when|date=June 2023}}
• 2013 Fellow of the Hereford College of Arts{{cite web|url=http://www.hca.ac.uk/About/Whos-Who/November-2013/Angela-Conner|title=Hereford College of Arts – Angela Conner|website=hca.ac.uk}}
• Pratt Legends Award, New York 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://www.angelaconner.com/conner-receives-pratt-legends-award/|title=Angela Conner Sculptor » Conner Receives Pratt Legends Award|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-08}}
• Shortlisted for 2018 Marsh Award for excellence in public fountains for 'Renaissance', Hatfield House, Hertfordshire. UK{{Cite web|url=https://www.pmsa.org.uk/news/2019/3/19/martin-jennings-frbs-wins-the-prestigious-pmsa-marsh-award-for-excellence-in-public-sculpture-for-second-time|title=Martin Jennings FRBS wins the prestigious PMSA Marsh Award for Excellence in Public Sculpture for second time|website=PMSA|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-03-08}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Conner is married{{when|date=June 2023}} to the photographer John Bulmer who often videos and photographs her sculptures. The couple live at Monnington on Wye, where they breed and train Morgan horses.{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/02/23/archives/morgan-horses-bought-by-british-sculptress-horse-show-news.html |title = Morgan Horses Bought by British Sculptress|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 23 February 1975|last1 = Corrigan|first1 = Ed}}{{cite web|url=http://herefordshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/sculptor-angela-conner-of-monnington-court-herefordshire-artist-art-18095/ |title=Sculptor Angela Conner of Monnington Court, Herefordshire|work= Herefordshire and Wye Valley Life|date= 19 February 2010|accessdate= 10 February 2013}}{{cite news|first=Drusilla |last=Beyfus|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3668381/Angela-Conner-See-the-light.html |title=Angela Conner: See the light|work= The Telegraph |date=6 October 2007|accessdate=10 February 2013}}

• David Stirling
• Public Monuments and Sculpture Association

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Category:1935 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century English sculptors

Category:20th-century English women sculptors

Category:21st-century English sculptors

Category:21st-century English women artists

Category:British modern sculptors

Category:English contemporary artists

Category:Fellows of the Royal British Society of Sculptors