Top of a Sculpture Near Federation Square

Thomas Lenton Parr AM (11 September 1924 – 8 August 2003) was an Australian sculptor and teacher .

Sculptor

Born in East

Coburg, Victoria Coburg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Darebin and Merri-bek local government areas. Coburg recorded a population of 26,574 at the 2021 census. Alt ...

, Lenton Parr spent eight years in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(Svc No. A33223) before enrolling to study sculpture at the Royal Melbourne Technical College (now

RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city ...

), then worked in England 1955–57 as an assistant to

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

. There he was influenced by

Reg Butler Reginald Cotterell Butler (28 April 1913 – 23 October 1981) was an English sculptor. He was born at Bridgefoot House, Buntingford, Hertfordshire to Frederick William Butler (1880–1937) and Edith (1880–1969), daughter of blacksm ...

and

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...

to work with enamelled steel structures, which was to become his lifelong specialty. After his return to Melbourne he showed at

Peter Bray Gallery Peter Bray Gallery (a commercial gallery) was established as Stanley Coe Gallery in 1949 before being renamed in 1951, after a change of management. Situated at 435 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia, it closed in ...

in 1957, and embarked on a career in art education.

Art educator

Parr was Head of Sculpture at

RMIT RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...

(1964–66), then Head of Prahran College of Technology in a $1.5 million building completed as he arrived. He appointed staff who became influential Australian art and was held in high esteem by staff, but his fine art philosophy clashed with the vocationally-oriented aims of the College Principal Alan Warren, who acted unsuccessfully to have him removed by advertising his job, prompting an inquiry by the Minister. Though his appointment at Prahran was upheld, he left, effective 31 January 1969, to take up the role of Principal at the

National Gallery School The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was a private fine arts college founded in 1867 and was Australia's leading art school of 50 years. It is also referred to as the 'National Gallery ...

(1969-1974), leading to his appointment as director (1974–84) of the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

when it replaced the Gallery School

Recognition

He was a member of the Victorian Sculptors' Society and its seventh president. Around 1960 he joined with

Clifford Last Clifford Frank Last OBE (13 December 1918 – 20 October 1991) was an English people, English sculptor, the son of Nella Last, author of a World War II diary on which the TV film ''Housewife, 49'' was based. Early life Clifford Last was t ...

Inge King Ingeborg Viktoria "Inge" King (; 26 November 1915 – 23 April 2016) was a German-born Australian sculptor. She received many significant public commissions. Her work is held in public and private collections. Her best known work is ''Forward S ...

, Vincas Jomantas and

Teisutis Zikaras Teisutis 'Joe' Zikaras (often spelled "Tesutis") (5 July 1922 – 10 May 1991) was an Australian sculptor born in Panevėžys, Lithuania. He earned a diploma at the School of Fine Arts, Kaunas, Lithuania, where his father Juozas, creator of Lith ...

to form a splinter group which exhibited together as the 'Centre Five'. In 1967 the group split from the Society, which never recovered from the departure of so many of its prominent members. In 1977 he was invested with the Order of Australia for his services to sculpture and the arts. He was awarded Honorary Doctorate in Arts (RMIT University) in 1992. A major monograph on his work was published in 1999.Parr, Lenton & Edwards, Geoffrey (Geoffrey Robert) (1999). Lenton Parr : vital presences. Beagle Press, Roseville, N.S.W The

Lenton Parr Library Lenton may refer to: People * Lenton (surname) *Lenton Parr (1924–2003), Australian sculptor Places * Lenton, Lincolnshire, sometimes known as Lavington * Lenton, Nottingham, a district of the city of Nottingham, including: ** Lenton Abbey, an ...

(Lenton Parr Music, Visual and Performing Arts Library—formerly Victorian College of the Arts Library) of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

was named for him.

Selected exhibitions

* 1956 Obelisk Gallery, London * 1957

, Melbourne * 1958 Victorian Sculptors Society * 1958

Gallery A Gallery A was a mid-century Australian gallery that exhibited contemporary Australian art. It was established in 1959 at 60 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, and then relocated to 275 Toorak Road., South Yarra. A second Gallery A venue was opened and run ...

, Melbourne * 1961 Mildura Art Gallery * 1961 Musee Rodin, Paris, 2nd Int'l Expo of Contemporary Sculpture * 1962 Hungry Horse Gallery, Sydney * 1963 Sculpture Today, National Gallery of Victoria and Regional Galleries * 1963 Centre 5, Newcastle City Art Gallery, NSW * 1964-65 Recent Australian Sculpture, Touring Australian State Galleries * 1964 Centre 5, Hungry Horse Gallery, Sydney * 1966 Australian Sculpture Centre, Canberra * 1968 Bonython Art Gallery, Sydney * 1969 Bonython Art Gallery, Sydney * 1973 Centre 5, Geelong Art Gallery, Victoria * 1973 Centre 5, McCelland Art Gallery, Victoria * 1977 Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane * 1978 Powell Street Gallery, Melbourne * 1981 Axiom Gallery, Melbourne * 1984-85 Lenton Parr Sculpture: Retrospective, National Gallery of Victoria * 1987

Christine Abrahams Gallery Christine Abrahams Gallery, first named Axiom, was a Melbourne gallery showing contemporary Australian art between 1980 and 2008. Foundation Christine Abrahams (5 March 1939 – 15 September 1994) graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Melbourne ...

, Melbourne * 1988-89 Manly Bicentennial Sculpture Commission * 1990 Melbourne International Festival, Melbourne * 1990 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne * 1990 Melbourne Sculptural Triennial, Melbourne * 1990 A-Z Gallery, Tokyo * 1992 Irving Galleries, Sydney * 1993 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne * 1995 Australia Felix, Benalla, Victoria * 1996 A Sculpture Walk in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne * 1997 Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne * 1998 The Mentors: Work by the 6 Deans of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Art, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne

Represented in collections

Represented in most State Gallery and other Public Collections and in various Institutional and Private Collections including: * Art Gallery of New South Wales * Art Gallery of Western Australia * Australian National Gallery * Australian National University * Ballarat College of Advanced Education * Carrick Hill, South Australia * Deakin University' * Geelong Art Gallery * La Trobe University * McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin * Melbourne College of Advanced Education * Mildura Arts Centre * National Gallery of Victoria * Newcastle Region Art Gallery * Phillip Institute of Technology * Queensland Art Gallery * Queensland University of Technology * University of Melbourne * Victoria College * Victorian College of the Arts * Warrnambool Art Gallery

Selected commissions

* 1954 Melbourne Grammar School * 1958 Union Theatre, University of Melbourne * 1959 Chadstone Shopping Centre, Victoria * 1960 Offices of Bernard Evans & Associates, Melbourne * 1961 Telstro House, Queen Street, Melbourne * 1961 Chemistry Building, ANU, Canberra * 1962 Geology Building, ANU, Canberra * 1962 State Savings Bank, Showgrounds Branch, Melbourne * 1963 'Age' offices, Collins Street, Melbourne * 1964 Burwood Teachers' College, Burwood, Victoria * 1964 John Curtin Memorial Building, ANU, Canberra * 1965 General Motors - Holden, Fishermen's Bend, Melbourne * 1966 New Customs House, William Street, Melbourne * 1968 Philip Morris P/L, Moorabbin, Victoria * 1969 IAC Building, Exhibition Street, Melbourne * 1970 Technical Teachers' College, Malvern, Victoria * 1970 Astrojet Building, Tullamarine, Victoria * 1972 Private Commission, Hobart * 1972 State College of Victoria, Coburg * 1978 Australian Wool Corporation * 1981 Victorian College of Pharmacy * 1988 Elgee Park, Merricks, Victoria * 1988-89 Bicentennial Sculpture, The Corso, Manly, NSW * 2001 Besen Collection, Tarrawarra Estate, Victoria

Bibliography

*''Sculpture'', Longmans 1961 *''Vital Presences'', Beagle Press 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parr, Lenton 2003 deaths 1924 births 20th-century Australian sculptors Modern sculptors Australian art teachers Abstract sculptors Artists from Melbourne People from Coburg, Victoria RMIT University alumni