item details
NameSnake
ProductionFrancis Shurrock; sculptor; 1955; Christchurch
Classificationsculpture
Materialsplaster, paint
Materials Summaryplaster
DimensionsIrregular: 135mm (width), 250mm (height), 210mm (length)
Registration Number2006-0017-1
Credit linePurchased 2006
Overview
The man who carved this fierce-looking serpent had a lasting impact on young New Zealand sculptors, starting in the mid 1920s.
Francis Shurrock was hired to teach ‘modelling and art crafts’ at the Canterbury College School of Art in Christchurch in 1923. At the time, sculpture was widely considered a poor cousin to the ‘real’ art form of painting. But under Shurrock’s inspiring tutorship, his students began to pave the way for a local sculptural tradition, grounded in modern design.