"Michael Gaspard Rizzello OBE (2 April 1926 – 28 September 2004) was a sculptor and designer.
Rizzello was born in London of Italian parents. His father was a tailor. He attended the London Oratory School and did not want to follow his father's profession. He enlisted in the army in 1944, and was demobbed in 1948. He was a good baritone singer and had to choose between music and drawing; he chose the latter. He attended the Royal College of Art winning both the Drawing Prize and Travelling Scholarship in Sculpture. This led to study in Italy, sculpture in Rome for two years, and he was awarded the Prix de Rome 1951 for Sculpture. He began his career making wax heads for Madame Tussauds." - (en.wikipedia.org 16.10.2021)
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