Study for 'Sacrifice'

Head study for 'Sacrifice'; a preliminary work for the central figure inside the Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park South, Sydney, the principal NSW State war memorial. Hoff's sculpture is the main focus of the memorial's interior; featuring a monumental bronze sculpture of a fallen serviceman, his head inclined backwards toward the setting sun in the west. His body is draped across a shield and sword supported by a caryatid - three female figures, represent his mother, sister and wife. This grouping forms the centre piece of the memorial and sits in the Hall of Silence below the Hall of Memories. Completed in 1934, the concrete building structure is clad in stone with sculptures by Rayner Hoff, and considered to be one of Hoff's most celebrated achievements in public art.