Summers (Charles) Rev.Charles Perry {1876} SLV [SC]

Summers, Charles (1825-78; English)
Bust of the Right Rev.Charles Perry 1876
Marble, 85.0 x 58.0 x 30.0 cm
Inscribed on reverse of pedestal: C.SUMMERS Sc. / ROMA / 1876
Presented by Sir W.J.Clarke, 1876; transferred from NGV to SLV, 1943
State Library of Victoria (LTS 11)

Perry, the first Anglican bishop of Melbourne, from 1848 to 1875, was also an energetic contributor to the educational development of the city: for details, see Weigall Rev.Charles Perry 1875 {1876} SLV [PA].

Brenda Niall (2007) suggests that Summers omitted the whiskers shown in Weigall’s painting, “in deference to the classical tradition of the bust.” Actually, several of Summers’ other busts of contemporaries also include substantial quantities of facial hair (see e.g. Summers (Charles) Sir John Manners-Sutton 1876 {1877} SLV [SC]). But the comparison with Weigall’s painting clearly demonstrates Summers’ ability to endow his sitters with a larger-than-life presence.

Refs.

AR 1876; SB, p.64 (Busts); NGV 1880, p.3; NGV 1894, p.130 (VI.Rotunda, no.15); NGV 1905, p.105 (IV.Vestibule, no.1)

For reproductions and further details, see the SLV’s online catalogue, and SLV Art of the Collection (2007), p.40 (comments by Brenda Niall, as quoted)