Sir John Summerson | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Newenham Summerson (1904-11-25)25 November 1904 Barnstead,Darlington, England |
| Died | 10 November 1992(1992-11-10) (aged 87) |
| Known for | Architectural historian |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Harrow School andBartlett School of Architecture,University College London |
Sir John Newenham SummersonCH CBE FBA FSA (25 November 1904 – 10 November 1992) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century.[1]
John Summerson was born at Barnstead, Coniscliffe Road,Darlington.[2] His grandfather worked for theDarlington and Stockton Railway and founded the family foundry of Thomas Summerson and Sons in Darlington in 1869. After the premature death of his father, Samuel James Summerson, in 1907, Summerson travelled extensively in England and Europe with his mother Dorothea[3] and then attended aprep school atRiber Castle inDerbyshire,[a][4] before going toHarrow (1918–1922)[5] and theBartlett School of Architecture atUniversity College London, where he gained a bachelor's degree.[5]
After graduation, Summerson worked in several junior roles, most notably in the office ofSir Giles Gilbert Scott, but architectural practice was not for him and he became a tutor at theEdinburgh College of Art, School of Architecture in 1929. Hired by theModern Architectural Research Group (MARS), a think tank founded by a group of modernist architects, he settled back in London, moving on to a job as an assistant editor for the magazineArchitect and Building News in 1934.[3] Following the unsuccessful attempts to become a practising architect, and greater success as an architectural journalist, Summerson embarked on his first book, a biography of the architectJohn Nash (1752–1835). Published in 1935, it was "outstandingly successful".[2]
He continued to write mainly about British architecture, especially that of theGeorgian era.[6] HisArchitecture in Britain: 1530–1830 (1st edition 1953; many subsequent editions) remained a standard work on the subject for students and general readers after his death.The Classical Language of Architecture (1963) is an introduction to the stylistic elements of classical architecture and traces their use and variation in different eras. He also wrote many more specialised works, including books aboutInigo Jones andGeorgian London (1945) illustrated byAlison Sleigh, as well asThe Architecture of the Eighteenth Century (1986), in which he describesBoullée in a distinct positive manner, stating that Boullée was clearly the point of departure for one of the boldest innovators of the century,Claude Nicolas Ledoux. His 1945 bookGeorgian London was called "a masterpiece of British art history" bySimon Jenkins in aSunday Times review of the 1988 edition.[7]
One of the founders of theNational Buildings Record (NBR) in 1941, Summerson served as its deputy director yet also took to the streets taking photographs for the organisation.[3] He was also a Commissioner of theRoyal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) for 21 years from 1953 to 1974, writing the introduction to the book celebrating the NBR's fiftieth anniversary in 1991.[8] He sat on many other public bodies and committees, including theRoyal Fine Arts Commission (1947–54) and theHistoric Buildings Council (1953–78)[5] and was an early and active member ofThe Georgian Group that was founded in 1937.[9]
In 1945, Summerson was appointed Director and curator ofSir John Soane's Museum, a post he held until his retirement in 1984.[5]
He wasSlade Professor of Fine Art at theUniversity of Oxford for 1958–59[10] and Slade Professor atCambridge University for the 1966–7 academic year.[11] He gave the 1964 Master-Mind Lecture onInigo Jones.[12] Summerson lectured atThe Courtauld Institute of Art on the history of Georgian architecture in London,[3]Birkbeck, University of London, and theArchitectural Association and became a good friend of his studentRoger Westman, who himself went on to become a noted architect.[13]
Summerson was noted for his somewhat elitist approach, and he was not always a consistent friend of the conservation movement. He was hired by theESB in Ireland to speak in favour of their demolition of 16 Georgian townhouses in Fitzwilliam Street,Dublin. The doomed terrace, he said, was "simply one damned house after another".[14]
Summerson wasknighted in 1958; was awarded theRoyal Gold Medal of theRoyal Institute of British Architects in 1976; and was created aMember of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1987. He was a Fellow of theSociety of Antiquaries of London[11] and elected a Fellow of theBritish Academy in 1954.[15]
The termBristol Byzantine, referring to a style influenced byByzantine andMoorish architecture and applied mainly to warehouses, factories, and other industrial buildings in the city ofBristol, is thought to have been invented by Summerson.[16] He invented the term "prodigy house" for showy Elizabethan and Jacobean courtier houses.[17] He had many notable students, includingPhoebe Stanton.[18]
There are a number of portraits of Summerson in the collection of theNational Portrait Gallery, London; one in oils by the artistLeonard Rosoman and the others by the photographers,Walter Stoneman,Walter Bird, Barry Beattie, and Stephen Hyde.[1]
Photographs attributed to Summerson are held in theConway Library whose archive, of primarily architectural images, is being digitised under the wider Courtauld Connects project.[19]
In March 2012, anEnglish Heritageblue plaque commemorating Summerson was erected at his former residence inChalk Farm, London,[20] where he lived with his wife Elizabeth Hepworth, the sister of DameBarbara Hepworth, the sculptor, and his three sons.[5]
