Early Life
Summers was born at Charlton Mackrell, near Ilchester, in Somerset, son of George Summers, builder and mason, and elder brother of Joseph Summers. George Summers had roaming ways which caused his family to be frequently in financial difficulties; his mother, however, was a woman of good character. Summers went to work from eight years of age and while working as a mason began to show ability in carving fancy stone work. This led to his being employed as an assistant in setting up a monumental figure at Weston-super-Mare which had been modelled by Henry Weekes, R.A. He saved money from his wages and at the age of 19 went to London and obtained work at Weekes's studio. Summers subsequently worked under L. Watson, another sculptor of the period, and studied at the Royal Academy schools. In 1851 he won the silver medal for the best model from life and the gold medal for the set subject, Mercy interceding for the Vanquished.
Read more about this topic: Charles Summers
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“Many a woman shudders ... at the terrible eclipse of those intellectual powers which in early life seemed prophetic of usefulness and happiness, hence the army of martyrs among our married and unmarried women who, not having cultivated a taste for science, art or literature, form a corps of nervous patients who make fortunes for agreeable physicians ...”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)
“Probably more than youngsters at any age, early adolescents expect the adults they care about to demonstrate the virtues they want demonstrated. They also tend to expect adults they admire to be absolutely perfect. When adults disappoint them, they can be critical and intolerant.”
—The Lions Clubs International and the Quest Nation. The Surprising Years, I, ch.4 (1985)
“There is no such thing as a life of passion any more than a continuous earthquake, or an eternal fever. Besides, who would ever shave themselves in such a state?”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)