Bohumil Vostal
Bohumil Vostal is a journalist and the author of a documentary about the sculptor Franta Bělský, which premiered on ČT24 on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Vostal covered the wedding of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, the funeral of Prince Philip, the platinum jubilee and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. In 2018, he made a TV series about Czech exile in England called Forgotten Protests, which was nominated for the FPA Awards in London. He has worked as a correspondent for Czech Television in London (2018-2022), Brussels (2012¬-2017) and currently in Washington. From 2000 to 2005 he was a freelance editor for the BBC’s Czech department in Prague.
Sculpting the Queen of England
May 2023, 384 pages
Franta Bělský is a largely forgotten Czech-born sculptor who left an indelible mark on the history of Great Britain
Sculpting the Queen of England, a narrative by Bohumil Vostal, a long-time journalist and correspondent for Czech Television in London, tells the fascinating story of royal sculptor Franta Bělský – a story of courage, suffering and inspiration – from his early childhood, through emigration, to life in the UK as a respected artist whose reputation led him to become the only Czech artist to have the honour of sculpting the royal family: not only Queen Elizabeth II herself, but also Prince Philip and Prince William. In addition to the compelling and dramatic life story of one of the most remarkable yet little-known artists Czechoslovakia has ever produced, the book features exclusive quotations from Bělský’s unpublished manuscript ‚The World Beyond the Channel‘, previously unpublished photographs, drawings and numerous new insights into the life of a sculptor directly linked to the influential British cultural milieu of the twentieth century. All of this is set against the backdrop of the recently concluded New Elizabethan Age as seen through contemporary eyes.
