PETER THURSBY R.W.A.,
F.R.B.S. (born 1930)
“High Levels”
Bronze Maquette. 12 1/8”
(308mm) high IMAGE
“Flying Podman”
Bronze. 12” (305mm) high IMAGE
“Handful of Optimism”
Bronze. 27 5/8” (701mm) high IMAGE
“Conversation in Yellow”
Mixed Media on board. Signed
& dated ’57. 1222 x 600mm IMAGE
Peter Thursby is a sculptor in bronze, sterling silver, resin
fibreglass and slate. He was also a
teacher. Born in Salisbury, he studied at the West of England
College of Art, Bristol under Paul Feiler and then studied sculpture
at Exeter College of Art and Design. He
held various teaching posts, including Head of Art at Hele’s Grammar School,. Exeter from 1960 to 1971 and then
Head of Art and later Head of School of Art and Design at Exeter College from 1971 to 1991. Thursby is a Member of the Royal West of
England Academy and was its President from 1995 to 2000. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of
British Sculptors. Rodin, Cesar Baldaccini, Jean Ipousteguy, Brancusi, Richier,
Gabo, Viera da Silva and Tapies are cited as influences. Thursby said that “both my large and small
sculptures embody a sense of architectonic power… The image is invariably
vertical … Apart from the early 1960s and 1970s, my two and three dimensional
work has been distinctly abstract. There
is a deep sense of symbolism within”.
Public commissions include Randolf House, Croydon (1966); Looking Forward
commissioned by Exeter City Sculpture to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s Silver
Jubilee (1977); Mazda Cars Head Office, Tunbridge Wells, bronze foundation and
sculpture (1982); Designed Growth, bronze relief, Rowan House, Westminster (1986). Thursby had a solo show at Arnolfini Gallery,
Bristol in 1963 and later ones include Alwin Gallery in 1976, Royal West of
England Academy in 1981, Bruton Street Gallery in 1995 and 1998 and
retrospectives of sculpture and drawings at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum
and Art Gallery, Exeter in 2000; Salisbury
and South Wiltshire Museum in 2003 and Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery in
2005. Two dozen Public Bodies hold his
work, including Arnolfini and Royal West of England Academy, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery and the Society of West End
Theatres.
