HELLABY, Richard Sydney

1887 - 1971

Richard Sydney Hellaby was born at Auckland, New Zealand on 11 July 1887, one of the three sons and three daughters of English born Richard Hellaby (5 January 1849–20 June 1902), founder with his brother William, of R & W Hellaby’s, the great New Zealand meat processors. His mother was Amy Maria née Briscoe (1864-1955), who married Richard, sen. at St Mark's Church, Remuera, Auckland on 20 January 1885. Richard was educated at Wellington College and travelled to England to study fine arts at the Lambeth School of Art and later to Paris to study at the Académie Julian and at École des Beaux Arts. On 4 August 1914, the day after war was declared, Richard locked up his studio, travelled to London and enlisted and was a lieutenant the Royal Field Artillery. He remained in England and married at St Peter's Church, Belsize Square, Hampstead, London 26 April 1917, artist Ruth Hollingsworth, daughter of Alexander Thomas Hollingsworth of 2 Belsize Square, Hampstead. A regular exhibiting member at the Royal Academy from 1921. He visited New Zealand and the Pacific Islands 1923–1924, painting and holding exhibitions and in 1929 donated the 'Fountain of the Valkyries' to the city of his birth. On his return to London, after holding a one man show was an exhibiting member at the Ipswich Art Club 1932-1939, exhibiting from Woodlands, Holbrook, near Ipswich in 1932 five paintings, 'Skying above Britaye, Switzerland', 'Winchelsea, Sussex' and watercolours 'Littlestone Beach, Kent', 'On Romney Marsh' and 'Sussex Landscape', in 1933 two oils 'The Pilot's Boat of Bridge Wood on the Orwell' and 'The Grimerta Road, Lewis', in 1934 'Stour above Flatford', 'Flatford Mill' and 'Near Dedham', in 1935 two oils 'Miss M. Hunter Rodwell' and 'At Arundel, Sussex'. In 1937 he exhibited from Lower Park, Dedham an oil, 'Lettice' and in the same year his wife, as Ruth Hellaby, exhibited from the same address, two oils 'Flower Piece' and 'Flowers'. In 1939, a retired artist painter, living at Lower Park, Dedham with his wife Ruth and where she died on 14 March 1945, leaving then substantial sum of over £45,000. Richard married secondly at Kensington, London in 1950, a New Zealander, Lorna Muriel Bristow, a teacher, and broadcaster, whom he met whilst on a painting holiday in Apia, Samoa. After living in Devon, they moved to South Africa where Richard Sydney Hellaby died at Manistry, Bishopsgate Drive, Claremont, Cape Town on 22 June 1971.

Royal Academy Exhibits
from 53 Belsize Park, London
1921 99 Zero plus Two Hours: N.Z. Gunners
         133 Charles Taylor, Esq.
         381 Harewood Downs, Bucks
1922 16 The Way Home
from Lower Park, Dedham, Essex
1936 341 On the Thames at Hurley

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Works by This Artist