Sculptor Summers dies

One of New Zealand’s most well-known sculptors, Llew Summers, has died. Summers’ nude figures are recognisable from public spaces across Christchurch. He is best known for his monumental sculptures made from bronze, concrete and stone. His family has confirmed he died on Thursday. His death notice said it was a peaceful death, at his home, ‘‘surrounded by his loved ones’’. In an interview in 2017, Summers said he considered himself to have ‘‘brought the nude to Christchurch – and for a conservative city I’ve done pretty well out of it, really’’. Summers started sculpting in his teens while working on farms in the early 1960s. He decided to become an artist in 1977. He worked from a warehouse-style workshop filled with machinery, including a mechanical drill from the early 1900s, at his Mt Pleasant property.