William Wallace Anderson (20 January 1888 – 7 October 1975), invariably known as Wallace Anderson or W. Wallace Anderson, was an Australian art teacher and sculptor, known for memorials at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra and throughout Victoria.
History
Anderson was born in Dean, Victoria, third child and twin son of William Anderson, MLA and his wife Helen Glover, née Naples. He was educated at Geelong College and Gordon Technical College, taking art classes part-time with J. R. Tranthim-Fryer (died 13 July 1928) and Charles Richardson, later conducting classes himself. Anderson enlisted with the First AIF in June 1915. His elder brother, Albert Naples Anderson, enlisted in December 1914, fought at Gallipoli and was wounded at Lone Pine. He was repatriated, then in January 1917 re-enlisted with the 8th Light Horse in Egypt and was killed in action in April 1917. Anderson served in France as a lieutenant in the 23rd Battalion, and in 1918 was attached to the Australian War Records Section, London, along with sculptors W. Leslie Bowles and C. Web Gilbert, and toured battlefields in France, Egypt and Palestine, making sketches and notes for later reference.
In 1920 he returned to Melbourne, working for the Australian War Museum, Canberra, producing the intricate figures for several of the battlefield dioramas, then from 1930 was engaged in work for other clients. Well-known public pieces include:
- Bronze frieze on memorial stone (1930) at Ararat
- "The Man and His Donkey" (1936), elsewhere named as John Simpson Kirkpatrick at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne
- "King George V" (1937), in Geelong
- Series of nine busts of Australian prime ministers, in the Botanic Gardens, Ballarat.
Anderson was a member of the Australian Academy of Art, Australian Sculptors' Society, Victorian Artists Society, and the Victorian Sculptors' Society, and exhibited regularly.
Family
Anderson married Gladys Ada Andrews (died 25 September 1952) on 6 May 1916.
They had a son Rod Anderson and daughters Lucie Cleary and Joy Bleakley.
See also
References
- Ken Scarlett (1993). Australian Dictionary of Biography: 'Anderson, William Wallace (1888–1975). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- "Swinburne's First Director Dead". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 15, 960. Victoria, Australia. 13 July 1928. p. 2. Retrieved 10 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Australians Abroad". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 22, 077. Victoria, Australia. 2 May 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 10 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- "The War Memorial, Ararat". The Age. No. 23504. Victoria, Australia. 8 August 1930. p. 5. Retrieved 10 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ""Man with the Donkey"". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 27, 918. Victoria, Australia. 11 February 1936. p. 6. Retrieved 10 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Theft of Crown". The Barrier Miner. Vol. LXVI, no. 17, 442. New South Wales, Australia. 30 April 1953. p. 7. Retrieved 10 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia. It was found a week later and two 17-year-old youths were charged.
- "Prime Ministers' Avenue At Ballarat". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 31, 039. Victoria, Australia. 22 February 1946. p. 24. Retrieved 10 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Family Notices". The Australasian. Vol. C, no. 2, 620. Victoria, Australia. 17 June 1916. p. 57. Retrieved 10 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.