Charles Francis Summers Explained

Charles Francis Summers
Birth Date:1858
Birth Place:Richmond, Victoria, Australia
Death Place:Fitzroy North, Victoria, Australia
Nationality:Australian
Field:Sculpture

Charles Francis Summers (1858-1945)[1] was an Australian sculptor.[2] The son of the British-born sculptor Charles Summers, he worked mainly in Rome, travelling back and forth to Australia to sell his pieces.

Career

Summers lived in Rome for thirty years, studying sculpture under his father, and drawing with Italian painter Ludovico Seitz.[3]

In Melbourne, he had a studio in the Grosvenor Chambers,[4] and later, in Jolimont.[3] He was amongst the first to quarry marble in Victoria, in the area of Benambra.[5]

Works

A selection of Summers's works is preserved in the Art Museum of Rotorua, New Zealand.[6] [7]

A number of Summers' sculptures including La Ballerina (c.1880s),[8] The Four Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter) (c. 1870s),[9] and The Boxers are situated in the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Five of his sculptures (Flight From Pompeii, Modesty, Rebekah, Ruth, and Susannah) along with the pavilion in which they are housed are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and are located in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.[10] "The Shunammite Woman" and "An Episode of Pompeii"is held by the Bendigo Art Gallery.[11]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 17 May 1945 . Death Of Famous Sculptor . The Argus . 26 December 2020.
  2. Web site: Summers' Sculptures. Rotorua Museum. en. 2020-05-31.
  3. News: 23 October 1900 . Arrival of a Sculptor From Rome . Sydney Morning Herald . 26 December 2020.
  4. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/196059425?searchTerm=“Grosvenor%20Chambers” Age, 13 February 1901, p.5.
  5. News: C.H.D. . 11 September 1948 . Mountains of Marble . The Age . 26 December 2020.
  6. Book: Coen, Paolo. Il recupero del Rinascimento: arte, politica e mercato nei primi decenni di Roma capitale (1870-1911). 2020. Silvana Editoriale. 978-88-366-4543-5. 211–212.
  7. Rankin. Elizabeth. 2003. From Rome to Rotorua: The Bathhouse Sculptures of Charles Francis Summers. Journal of New Zealand Art History. 24. 25–38.
  8. News: Louise Schwartzkoff . 24 July 2009 . On With Her Head: La Ballarina Gets a Makeover . Sydney Morning Herald . 4 December 2020.
  9. Web site: Passion for plants - Remembering the Palace . Tim Entwisle . 19 October 2009 . abc.net.au . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 4 December 2020.
  10. Web site: Charles Francis Summers & Professor Benzoni - Flight From Pompeii . vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au . Heritage Council Victoria . 4 December 2020.
  11. Web site: Untitled . 30 August 2016 . facebook.com . Bendigo Art Gallery . 26 December 2020.