H.R.H. Prince Alfred, The Duke of Edinburgh c1884

Summary

Marble bust of H.R.H. Prince Alfred, The Duke of Edinburgh. An article from The Argus, dated 14 October 1884 describes Mr. C. F. Summers (“son of the eminent sculptor”) as having opened a studio at 95 Collins Street East. The article suggests: “Mr C. F. Summers has brought out a bust of the Duke of Edinburgh, executed by himself, which has received the approbation of Her Majesty, and may perhaps find a permanent resting-place in the Town hall, with the ceremonial commencement and completion of which His Royal Highness was so closely associated.” The foundation stone of the Melbourne Town Hall was laid by Prince Alfred in 1867. He is the first royal family member to visit Australia. Two years later he returns to lay a capital in the clocktower, named Prince Alfred’s Tower. On his third trip, the duke is the first official guest in the completed Town Hall, opened in August 1870. It is likely the bust was acquired for Melbourne Town Hall with reference to Prince Alfred’s association with the building in the late nineteenth century.

Charles Francis Summers (1857-1945) was an Australian sculptor born in Richmond. The son of the British-born sculptor Charles Summers, he worked mainly in Rome, travelling back and forth to Australia to sell his pieces.