Sergeant Samuel Forsyth, VC, painted by Richard Wallwork in 1920. Forsyth won a posthumous Victoria Cross (VC) for destroying enemy machine-gun posts during an attack on the French town of Grévillers on 24 August 1918. He was killed in action later that day.
- Read more about Samuel Forysth (Auckland Museum Cenotaph)
About the artist
Englishman Richard Wallwork (1882–1955) moved to Christchurch in 1911 to take up a teaching position at the Canterbury College School of Art. He and his wife Elizabeth (also an artist) both enjoyed long and successful careers in New Zealand. A member of the Canterbury Society of Arts for 42 years, Wallwork was director of the Canterbury College School of Art from 1928 until 1945. Samuel Forsyth was one of two New Zealand VC winners he was commissioned to paint following the First World War. The other was Richard Travis.
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