Summers Place Auctions
Los 42
Garden Sculpture: ▲ Edward Bainbridge Copnall EvolutionCarved Portland stone190cm high by 107cm squareEdward Bainbridge Copnall MBE, 1903 -1973 was a British sculptor and painter best known for his architectural and decorative sculptures featuring allegorical and religious subjects. He was the President of the Royal Society of Sculptors from 1961 to 1966.He was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1903 and moved to Horsham, West Sussex in England as a young child after the death of his mother. His father, photographer Edward White Copnall (born 1878, Isle of Wight), lived and worked in Horsham from 1915 to 1962. The Copnall family have a long association with Horsham, the street Copnall Way is named after them. The exterior sculptural scheme for the Royal Institute of British Architects new building in Portland Place, London, completed in 1934, was an important early commission. In the Second World War, he worked as a camouflage officer in the Middle East, building dummies as part of the military deception for Operation Crusader. Copnall lived in Burma from 1955 to 1956, and completed 50-60 paintings, mainly portraits, during that time. He was also commissioned to do a memorial of General Aung San, the first Prime Minister of Free Burma. The statue was unveiled in Burma in 1955.Other notable works include;Wood carvings for the Cunard Line liners RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth.The Stag, 1962, Maidstone, Kent. His largest work, originally located in Stag Place, London but moved to Maidstone in 2004.Crucifixion of Jesus, 1964, St John’s Church, Horsham. Made from coal dust and resin, it was removed from the facade of the church in December 2008 to Horsham Museum and Art Gallery. Rev Ewen Souter, the vicar at St John’s Church said it was “a horrifying depiction of pain and suffering” that ‘scared children and deterred worshippers’. Thomas Becket, 1970, St. Paul’s Cathedral Churchyard, LondonThe Boy David, 1971, Chelsea EmbankmentExterior work at St. Columba’s Church, Pont Street, London He was president of the Royal Society of British Sculptors from 1961 to 1966. He wrote A Sculptor’s Manual, published in 1971, a copy of which is included with this lot, in which he gives a detailed explanation of the carving of this piece, together with related newspaper cuttings commenting; ‘I carved each of the three sides which had been sawn off making the following works: “Creation”, “Conception” and “Resurrection”’.Provenance: Carved in North Street House, Horsham and then with Mr Turner of Nutley Green before being gifted to the present owner in 1980.
