Angela Godfrey Explained

Angela Godfrey
Alt:	Angela Godfrey
Birth Place:	London, England
Alma Mater:	King's College, Newcastle upon Tyne
Known For:	Sculpture
Homepage:	www.angelagodfrey.co.uk
Spouse:	Alan Burgess

Angela Godfrey is an English sculptor and Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.

Personal life

Angela Godfrey was born in 1939 in London. She studied fine art at King's College, Newcastle upon Tyne from 1957 to 1961.^[1] She then taught at Mid-Warwickshire School of Art from 1962 to 1964.^[1] She is married to the artist and landscape painter Alan Burgess.

Career and works

Godfrey's work often combines text with form. Her first commission after graduating was from the architect George Mathers, who asked her to make an altar for St Bartholomew's church in St Albans which he was designing.^[2] She has also collaborated with the architect Richard Hurley reordering churches in Hoddesdon, Harrow Weald, Ballyporeen in Co. Tipperary and Maidstone. She has won competitions for her work, including for a large street sculpture, Gilpin's Bell, in Fore Street, Edmonton, London (1994), for a Millennium sculpture for Stow-on-the-Wold, and for the River Stort sculpture trail.^[3] She is a Trustee of Harlow Art Trust (HAT) a registered charity founded in 1953. HAT commissions and cares for sculpture in Harlow and since 2011 runs the Gibberd Gallery. She was also the initiator and curator of the Playhouse Gallery, Harlow.

Works

• Altar and lectern (part of the 1991 reordering) for the Grade II listed Church of St Joseph, Wealdstone High Road, London.
• Statue for Grade II listed 3 East Street, Ware which was installed in 1986 and paid for by The Ware Society.
• Welded steel screen and font in Grade II listed Marychurch, Hatfield. A commission from George Mathers.
• The bishop’s throne and Pascal candle for the rebuilt Longford Cathedral, Ireland.^[4]
• Only Connect sculpture in St Nicholas' churchyard, Stevenage (1994), which takes its name from the subtitle of E M Forster's Howards End and marks the gateway to 'Forster Country'.^[5]
• Four sculptures in Harlow - Grecian Urn, Two Vertical Forms (2000), The Flame (2008), We Are The Music Makers (2006), Flowing Onwards (2007).^[6]
• A carved pedestal of Bath stone with emblems representing the tree of life for the Church of St Mary, Finchley.^[7]
• A carved altar at St Peter ad Vincula, Roydon with symbols of the crucifixion and communion.^[8]
• Designs and carved stone for Blessed John Henry Newman Church, Warrington.^[9]
• A stainless steel dove for the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Carryduff.^[10] This is an unusual piece for Godfrey as she usually works in stone and wood.
• A concrete font for Church of St John Fisher, Redbourn, Herts (1966).^[11]
• "When the Wind is High..." an oak sculpture for Brixworth Country Park, Northamptonshire. Quotation from Mary Lockett.
• "No Man is an Island..." a Cumberland slate sculpture in Gibberd Garden, Harlow. Quotation from John Donne.

Exhibitions

Her work has been featured in a large number of exhibitions including:

• The University of Leicester's international sculpture exhibition 'A Decade of Sculpture in the Garden' (2011).^[12]
• 'Wood, Stone, Steel and Paint', The Gibberd Gallery, Harlow. A retrospective of her commissioned works, other sculptures and drawings.
• 'In Collaboration', an exhibition at The Gallery at Parndon Mill (2014). Featuring works made in collaboration with Eddie Norris.

Notes and References

1. Book: David Buckman. Art Dictionaries Ltd. 2006. Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 1, A to L . 0-953260-95-X.
2. British Sculptors of the Twentieth Century, Alan Windsor (ed), Ashgate Publishing, 2003
3. Web site: Angela Godfrey MRSS. Royal Society of Sculptors. 2022-07-27.
4. Web site: The Sacred Arts in St Mel's Catherdral by Dr Richard Hurley FRIAI. Faith Arts. May 2015.
5. Web site: The Friends of the Forster Country. Forster Country. 12 August 2016.
6. Web site: Harlow Sculpture Map. Harlow Council. 10 August 2018.
7. Web site: Roman Catholic Church of St Mary . Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster . 10 August 2018.
8. Web site: Church Art Trail . Chelmsford Anglican Org . 10 August 2018.
9. Web site: Church Design . Newman Parish Warrington . 10 August 2018.
10. Web site: Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Church of Drumbo and Carryduff.
11. Web site: Fonts Sculptured for English Churches . Concrete Construction.
12. Web site: International Sculpture Exhibition Opening. University of Leicester. 23 June 2011.