Born in 1904 Josefina de Vasconcellos lived to be over 100 and left a legacy of fine artwork around the world.
The daughter of a Brazilian diplomat she married Delmar Banner in 1930.
Art seemed to be Josefinas’ passion from an early age and she was soon gaining awards and prestigious commissions.
It was during a painting expedition in the 1930’s that she first came to the Lake District. Eventually they purchased a farmhouse in the Langdale Valley called the Bield.
The Hand, placed in the grounds of St Bees School, was one of the works to be created during the 1940’s. It is in memory of a friend who died in WWII.
In 1957 her sculpture entitled ‘Virgin and Child’ was donated to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. This marked a turning point in her career as she became the first woman to have a sculpture in the Cathedral.
Josefina was awarded an MBE in 1985 for services to the community in Cumbria.
One work, Reconciliation, first given to Bradford University in 1973 struck a chord with many and has since been versioned for many locations including Coventry Cathedral, The Berlin Wall, Hiroshima and in the grounds of Stormont Castle in Ireland.
In Cumbria, Josefinas work can be seen at St. Bees School and the Virgin Group sponsored woodland walk at St. Bees priory, Cartmel, Brougham Castle near Penrith and many other locations.
The Josefina de Vasconcellos Arts Care Trust is a fully Registered Charity, No. 1119354, set up in honour of the work and ideals of Josefina de Vasconcellos, MBE.
We will be adding to the gallery below as we come across any further examples of work by Josefina de Vasconcellos.
[slidepress gallery=’the-artwork-of-josefina-de-vasconcellos’]
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