Charles Wheeler (sculptor)
- for others with the same name see Charles Wheeler (disambiguation)
| Sir Charles Wheeler KCVO | |
|---|---|
 Bank of England facade, sculpture by Sir Charles Wheeler | |
| Born |
Charles Thomas Wheeler 14 March 1892 Codsall, Staffordshire, England |
| Died |
22 August 1974 (aged 82) Five Ashes, Mayfield, Sussex, England |
| Education | Wolverhampton, London |
| Known for | sculpture, architectural sculpture |
| Awards | PRA KCVO CBE |
Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler KCVO, PRA (14 March 1892 – 22 August 1974) was a British sculptor, and the first sculptor to hold the Presidency of the Royal Academy (from 1956 through 1966).
Wheeler was born in Codsall, Staffordshire and raised in nearby Wolverhampton. He studied at the Municipal School of Art in Wolverhampton (now Wolverhampton University) under Robert Emerson.[1] In 1912 he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art where he studied under Édouard Lantéri. For World War I Wheeler was classified as unfit for active service and instead modeled artificial limbs for war amputees.
He came to specialize in portraits and architectural sculpture. He became RA in 1940 and PRA in 1956. In 1968 he wrote his autobiography, High Relief.
Works include:
- 20-foot bronze doors and a major program 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 Cloisters (War Memorial) 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
- allegorical figures of the Seven Seas at the Tower Hill Memorial
- the statue of Lady Wulfrun outside St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton
- the monumental Earth and Water figures for the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall
References
- Public Sculpture of the City of London, by Philip Ward-Jackson
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Wheeler (sculptor). |
- Works by Charles Wheeler in the collection the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- 'Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler PRA, KCVO, CBE', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951
| Cultural offices | ||
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| Preceded by Sir Albert Richardson |
President of the Royal Academy 1956–1966 |
Succeeded by Walter Thomas Monnington |
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