Percival Ball 3417253 216355675 2008-06-01T07:25:04Z Lockley 207616 add v&a reference '''Percival Ball''' ([[17 February]] [[1845]] – [[4 April]] [[1900]]) was an [[England|English]] sculptor active in [[Australia]]. Ball was born in [[Westminster]], [[London]], the son of Edward Henry Ball, carver, and his wife Louisa, née Percival. He later studied at the [[Royal Academy]] of Arts schools in England winning several gold medals and prizes. Between 1865 and 1882 he exhibited 24 works at Royal Academy exhibitions. Around 1870 Ball travelled to [[Paris]] and then to [[Munich]] and [[Rome]], where he lived for approximately eight years. His [[marble]] sculptures received high praise. Ball came to [[Sydney]], Australia in 1884, seeking a warmer climate to relieve his [[asthma]] and [[bronchitis]]. After six months there he moved to [[Melbourne]], occupying a studio at [[Grosvenor chambers]] from 1889 and completed the statue of Sir [[Redmond Barry]] which now stands in front of the public library in [[Melbourne]], as a consequence of the original sculptor, [[James Gilbert]], having died after modelling the statue in clay. Ball was then given other commissions, including the statue of [[William Wallace|Sir William Wallace]] at [[Ballarat]]; [[Francis Ormond]] at Melbourne, and some portrait busts, now in the national gallery at Melbourne. In 1886 he was commissioned to sculpt a marble bust of [[James Moorhouse|Bishop James Moorhouse]], now at the La Trobe Library. In 1898 he was commissioned by the trustees of the national gallery at [[Sydney]] to design a panel for the [[facade]] of the building. He completed his relief panel ''Phryne before Praxiteles'' and then travelled to England to supervise the casting. His architectural sculpture is also on the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]]. He died of heart failure due to asthma and bronchitis in England on [[4 April]] [[1900]]. ==References== *{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Percival|Last=Ball|Link=http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogBa.html#ball1}} *Ken Scarlett, '[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070162b.htm Ball, Percival (1845-1900)]', ''[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]]'', Vol.7, [[Melbourne University Press|MUP]], 1979, pp 160-161. ==External links== *[http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp06642&role=art Bust of Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards by Percival Ball] at the National Portrait Gallery, accessed [[2008-02-01]] *[http://www.artnet.com/artist/687295/percival-ball.html Works by Percival Ball] at ArtNet.com, accessed [[2008-02-01]] {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Percival}} [[Category:1845 births]] [[Category:1900 deaths]] [[Category:People from Westminster]] [[Category:Australian sculptors]] [[Category:English sculptors]]