Charles Wheeler (sculptor)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sir Charles Wheeler
Wolverhampton College of Art
  • Royal College of Art
  • Known forsculpture, architectural sculpture
    Awards
    • Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
    • Commander of the Order of the British Empire

    Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler

    Royal Academy, from 1956 until 1966.[1]

    Biography

    Philip Louis Vian
    by Charles Wheeler, 1942

    Wheeler was the son of a journalist and was born in

    Wolverhampton University, under Robert Emerson, between 1908 and 1912.[2] In 1912 he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art where he studied under Édouard Lantéri until 1917.[3] Throughout the remainder of World War I
    , Wheeler was classified as unfit for active service and instead modelled artificial limbs for war amputees.

    Wheeler came to specialize in portraits and

    In 1968 he wrote his autobiography, High Relief.

    During the

    Second World War Wheeler was the only sculptor to be given full-time contracts by the War Artists' Advisory Committee. In both 1941 and 1942, Wheeler was commissioned to produce portrait busts of Admiralty figures. Due to material shortages and other issues, Wheeler produced only three bronze figures during the commission period.[6][7]

    Personal life

    In 1918, Charles Wheeler met Miss Muriel Bourne, youngest daughter of A. W. Bourne, and a sculptor and painter herself at the time. They married and had two children, their son Robin and their daughter Carol.

    In 1968, Charles Wheeler moved to a little Sussex farmhouse to evade the noise of constructions near their previous dwelling. He died on 22 August 1974, at the age of 82 and was buried in Codsall.[8]

    Works

    Notable works include by Wheeler include,[9]

    • The 20-foot bronze doors and a major programme of sculptures, including the "Lothbury Ladies" and the gilded finial figure of Ariel for the Bank of England, with architect Sir Herbert Baker, 1922–45
    • Fountain and memorial plates for
      Blackmoor War Memorial Cloister
      by Sir Herbert Baker.
    • Sculptures for Rhodes House, Oxford, with Baker, 1927
    • Sculptures for India House, Aldwych, with Baker, 1928–30
    • Sculptures for
      South Africa House
      with Baker, 1934
    • The western fountain figures in Trafalgar Square, 1948
    • The allegorical figures of the Seven Seas at the Tower Hill Memorial
    • The statue of
      St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton
    • Assorted architectural sculptures and keystones for the Bank of England extension at One New Change
    • The monumental Earth and Water figures for the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall
    • The gilded bronze eagle on top of the Malta Memorial in Floriana, 1954

    References

    1. ^ "Charles Wheeler, P.R.A." Royal Academy. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
    2. ^ "Wolverhampton's Blue Plaques". Retrieved 16 October 2016.
    3. .
    4. .
    5. ^ "Artist biography, Sir Charles Wheeler". Tate. 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
    6. .
    7. ^ Imperial War Museum. "War artists archive, Charles Wheeler". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
    8. ^ "Sir Charles Wheeler (codsallhistory.com" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 November 2021.
    9. ^ University of Glasgow History of Art (2011). "Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler PRA, KCVO, CBE". Mapping the Practice & Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851-1951. Retrieved 16 October 2016.

    External links

    Cultural offices
    Preceded by President of the Royal Academy
    1956–1966
    Succeeded by