Finding Nemon: The Extraordinary Life of the Outsider Who Sculpted the Famous

Aurelia Young

ISBN 10: 072062066X / ISBN 13: 9780720620665

Published by Peter Owen Publishers, 2019

New copy - Usually dispatched within 7-11 working days. Seller Inventory # B9780720620665

Synopsis:

The first biography of sculptor Oscar Nemon (1906–1985), the unknown artist behind some of Britain’s most iconic statues. Oscar Nemon is one of the twentieth century’s greatest sculptors, as testified by his iconic portraits of elder statesmen and major figures displayed all over the world. He was a flamboyant personality who charmed those who came in contact with him, including towering figures such as Winston Churchill, Sigmund Freud and Queen Elizabeth II and countless politicians and celebrities, as well as a host of women including his long-suffering wife. Their elder daughter Aurelia has gone in search of this often infuriating yet charismatic man and reveals the stories behind his artistic and personal encounters with presidents, prime ministers, royalty and others. She chronicles her father’s life from humble origins as a Jew in modern-day Croatia to his refuge from the Nazis in southern England and the life and career he made for himself in and around London with his British wife Patricia. The author engagingly explains how the Queen nicknamed him the `missing Oscar’ and how Nemon became the subject of the only attempt at sculpture by his friend Churchill, who posed for many likenesses including a monumental bronze in the House of Commons. The result is an intimate biography of an artist, husband and father complemented by a wealth of fascinating illustrations. Nemon’s remarkable talent should have resulted in wide international renown, but he struggled for much of his early career, as many within the British establishment from the 1930s on – including Patricia’s parents – were openly anti-Semitic, and they excluded him from their circles. Yet his achievements were great and his legacy immense. In Finding Nemon, the first biography of Oscar Nemon to appear in English, richly illustrated and beautifully presented, Aurelia Young draws her father out from the shadow of his remarkable body of work.

About the Author: AURELIA YOUNG (Lady Young, b. 1943) is the daughter of Oscar Nemon. She grew up wandering in and out of her father’s studios at the family home in Oxford and later in London. Since his death in 1985, she has been researching her father’s life and gives talks about his life and work in the USA, Paris, Brussels, Israel and across the UK. She married George Young in 1964, an MP for forty-one years and now Lord Young of Cookham. JULIAN HALE is a journalist and author of several works of fiction and non-fiction. Between 1968 and 1973 he was a BBC World Service producer, script writer and programme organiser of the Romanian and Italian services, and between 1978 and 2000 a documentary and features producer for Radios 3 and 4 .

Bibliographic Details

Title: Finding Nemon: The Extraordinary Life of the...
Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
Publication Date: 2019
Binding: Paperback / softback
Condition: New