(1887–).

Sculptor and teacher.

A new biography of Shurrock, Francis Aubrey appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Francis A. Shurrock was born at Warrington, Lancashire, England, on 5 August 1887 and received his early education at Tarwin Grammar School, Cheshire. Following a period as pupil teacher at Great Barrow Elementary School and the Chester School of Art, he gained in 1908 a Royal Exhibition Scholarship tenable at the Royal College of Art, London, where he secured the Diploma in Sculpture and Full Associateship of the College. Then followed a post-graduate scholarship year. After service in the First World War, he became principal of the School of Science and Art, Weston-super-Mare, from 1919 to 1923 when he was appointed Master of Sculpture, Canterbury College School of Art, Christchurch. He retired in 1948.

Shurrock is not only a gifted sculptor but was also an inspiring teacher. Works commissioned or privately executed in New Zealand include a bust of Sir James Shelley; life-size head of A. F. Nicoll; portrait medallion (marble) for Massey Memorial, Wellington; bronze statue of J. E. FitzGerald, Christchurch; bust of Sir Thomas A. Hunter (q.v); and sculpture for the Otago Centennial Memorial, Signal Hill, Dunedin. Shurrock has exhibited frequently at the Royal Academy, London, and is represented in leading art galleries throughout the country.