John Somerville (born 1951) is a British sculptor.
Somerville attended Woodhouse Grammar School and Barnet College in north London. He studied Fine Art Bronze Casting under David Reid (Leverhulme Fellowship, Central St Martin's School of Art) and opened his first bronze studio in 1979. [1]
He has had numerous one-man shows in the UK, Europe and the United States. He exhibits regularly at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. His work appears regularly at Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses in London and New York. Commissions include rock stars in bronze for the Hard Rock Cafes in New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Hawaii and Reykjavík; public monuments and commemorative busts.
In 2012 Somerville had a severe stroke which left him with weakness in his right arm and leg, partial sight loss in one eye and several hidden disabilities including fatigue. Despite these handicaps, he continues to sculpt and encourage others to sculpt. [2] In 2016 he completed a statue of a seated lifesize Spike Milligan on a bench for Avenue House Estate Trust at Stephens House and Gardens in Finchley, which is the product of over ten years of fundraising by the Finchley Society, of which Milligan was a founder member in 1971. [3]
Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British India, where he spent his childhood before relocating in 1931 to England, where he lived and worked for the majority of his life. Disliking his first name, he began to call himself "Spike" after hearing the band Spike Jones and his City Slickers on Radio Luxembourg.
Finchley is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, 7 mi (11 km) north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon.
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over 100 m (330 ft) above sea level, is situated 5+1⁄2 miles north of Charing Cross.
East Finchley is a London Underground station in East Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet, north London. The station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, between Finchley Central and Highgate stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 3.
East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill, it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It has the greenest high road in London.
John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum was an American sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Mountain in Georgia, statues of Union General Philip Sheridan in Washington D.C. and in Chicago, as well as a bust of Abraham Lincoln exhibited in the White House by Theodore Roosevelt and now held in the United States Capitol crypt in Washington, D.C.
North Finchley is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Barnet, situated seven miles (11 km) northwest of Charing Cross. North Finchley is centred on Tally Ho Corner, the junction of the roads to East Finchley, Church End, Friern Barnet and Whetstone. Church End is usually known as Finchley Central, owing to the name of the tube station located there.
Cyrus Edwin Dallin was an American sculptor best known for his depictions of Native Americans. He created more than 260 works, including the Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere in Boston; the Angel Moroni atop Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City; and Appeal to the Great Spirit (1908), at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He was also an accomplished painter and an Olympic archer.
Woodside Park is a suburban residential area in the London Borough of Barnet, in the North Finchley postal district of N12.
Church End is a locality within Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Aside from its church it centres on Finchley Central Underground station. Church End is an old village, now a suburban development, centred 7 miles (11 km) north-northwest of Charing Cross.
La Délivrance is a 1914 bronze statue by the French sculptor Émile Oscar Guillaume (1867–1942). The statue was created as a celebration of the First Battle of the Marne, when the German army was stopped before capturing Paris in August 1914.
Avenue House is a large Victorian mansion situated on East End Road in Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet.
Woodhouse College is a single site selective state sixth form centre situated between North Finchley and Friern Barnet on the eastern side of the London Borough of Barnet in North London, England. It is one of the most successful sixth form colleges in England and is a member of The Maple Group. It was formerly a state grammar school, known as Woodhouse Grammar School.
Avenue House Grounds is a ten-acre Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation on East End Road in Church End, Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. The estate is now known as Stephens House & Gardens.
Woodhouse Grammar School was a secondary school in Woodhouse Road, North Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet. (There was another Woodhouse Grammar School, in the village of Woodhouse, near Sheffield, founded in 1909, closed in the 1960s, absorbed into Aston High. The old building was demolished.)
David Williams-Ellis is a British sculptor whose primary subject matter is the human figure.
Sadashiv Sathe or Bhau Sathe was an Indian sculptor. His notable works include the 5-metre high statue of Mahatma Gandhi that is part of the main structure of the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial situated at Dandi, Navsari and the 18-foot equestrian statue of Shivaji at the Gateway of India, Mumbai.
Sydney Simmons was an English entrepreneur and philanthropist in Okehampton, Devon, and Friern Barnet, Middlesex. Born in Devon, he was first apprenticed to a drapery company before travelling to London in 1862 where he became the North American representative of a carpet company. He acquired the rights to a new carpet cleaning process, the exploitation of which in Britain made him wealthy. He lived in Friern Barnet and funded a number of philanthropic projects there and in his native Okehampton where he was buried.