Josefina de Vasconcellos FRBS (1904-2005) was the daughter of a Brazilian diplomat and English Quaker mother. In 1930, she married fellow artist Delmar Banner and they made Cumbria their home, adopting two sons, Billy and Brian. Vasconcellos had a lifelong love of children: she and Delmar had over twenty god-children, and many of her works featured children, indeed she modelled her sculpture Boys wrestling on her two sons. She achieved recognition with her piece, Reconciliation, which was first given to Bradford University’s Department of Peace Studies and later cast in bronze for Coventry Cathedral. Other versions of Reconciliation have been placed in the Peace Park at Hiroshima, near the site of the Berlin Wall, and at Stormont Castle, Northern Ireland.
This extract from the Council minutes of 1 June 1948 demonstrates how Vasconcellos played a very active role in the Society, suggesting sites for the display of sculpture. Finding sites to exhibit sculpture is a recurring topic in the early Society’s minutes.
