Gerald (Gerolamo) Giudici

Other names: Gerry, Jerry

Born 18 December 1896
Died 1969

Active: 1911 - 1961

Country of birth: Italy

Country of death: England

Pointer, stone carver, sculptor

Born in Milan. He was the son of Antonio Giudici (born c.1862 in Melegnano, near Milan), a pointer and marble carver who came to Britain possibly in the 1890s. Antonio had three sons who also worked as stone carvers and pointers, Raimondo, Gerald (Geralomo, Gerry or Jerry) and Romino as well as another son, Roberto, who worked as a bronze founder and moulder. It is possible that Gerald partly trained in Italy, certainly he seems to have been absent in 1911 although his younger brother was already an apprentice.

According to James Butler RA, who worked for Gerald Giudici for over ten years in the 1950s and 1960s, Gerald worked with his brother Raimondo and employed a number of carvers and sculptors as assistants. Butler met Gerald Giudici in 1951 when he was brought in to St Martins by the Head of Sculpture, Walter Marsden, to teach the final year students how to copy a work in plaster into stone. The class ended abruptly and unsuccessfully (see entry for Marsden) but the outcome was a kind of apprenticeship for Butler followed by paid employment.

When Butler first worked for Giudici there were about four others working for Gerald and Raimondo. There was an elderly ex-music hall performer called Bert Tongue (who used to sing old music hall ballads while working) and three others: Reg Carnell, Charlie Randall and Peter King (1928-57). King was highly regarded during his brief career and also worked as an assistant for Henry Moore. Among other sculptors who worked for Gerald Giudici was Roy Noakes (1936-2002) who switched his apprenticeship from Anselm Odling to Giudici.

Butler continued working with Raimondo (Ray) and Gerry Giudici after Carnell, Randall and King had left. Butler assisted in the carving of the Queen's Beasts at Kew (sculptor James Woodford RA) and many other architectural sculptures by Woodford, Charles Wheeler PRA and William McMillan. Butler also carved a Virgin and Child on a church in Kennington for Walter Marsden. In the early 1960s Butler had a job carving a figure of Lord Balfour for David McFall RA and left Gerry Giudici's employment to carry out this project. At about this time Gerry suffered a terrible setback and never worked again. Indeed on 11 July 1961 he filed a petition for bankruptcy.

This account is largely based on notes submitted by James Butler MBE RA. There are references to 'Jerry' Giudici in Charles Wheeler's autobiography 'High Relief', p. 126 and in Sarah Crellin 'The Sculpture of Charles Wheeler', 2012, pp. 89 and 169. The latter includes a photograph of Giudici's team, including James Butler RA, at work on Charles Wheeler's massive statues 'Earth' and 'Water' for the Ministry of Defence (1950-53).

Citing this record

'Gerald (Gerolamo) Giudici', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=ann_1388677889, accessed 26 Mar 2023]