Charles Sykes

Other names: Charles Robinson Sykes

Born 18 December 1875
Died 6 June 1950

Active: 1891 - 1950

Country of birth and death: England

Sculptor, graphic designer, cartoonist, car mascot designer

Born at Redcar, Yorkshire and raised in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He was the son of Samuel Sykes (born c.1850 in Middleham, Yorkshire), who ran a decorating and house painting business in Newcastle with his brother Charles Xavier Sykes. Their work involved making wallpapers and friezes, and they were both amateur painters. Samuel is said to have had a particular interest in marine subjects.

Charles was initially apprenticed to his father's trade of house painting and studied art at Rutherford College. In 1898 he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London. Sykes remained in the capital after completing his studies and established a successful career mixing fine and commercial art. At around this time, he dropped his full given name of Charles Robinson Sykes in favour of plain Charles Sykes. For his commercial work he used assumed names, chiefly 'Jacques d‘Or', and later 'Rilette'.

Sykes's first commission was for a triptych for Beaulieu Abbey, the Cistercian Abbey at which his patron, Lord Montagu, was lay abbot (1903). This was followed by a second commission for a near life-size madonna and child for Beaulieu. Five years later, the warm reception given to a statuette of a bacchante that Sykes exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts led to his being commissioned to design the mascot for Rolls Royce known as the 'Flying Lady' or 'Spirit of Ecstasy' (1911). He fabricated each cast of the mascot when specially ordered by a buyer of a Rolls Royce. From 1928 Sykes was assisted in casting and finishing the mascots by his daughter, Jo Sykes, who also became a sculptor.

Building on this success, during the 1920s, Sykes was invited to design gold and silver cups for Ascot by a committee run by Lord Crawford, Churchill and Cecil Harcourt-Smith. Other designs for gold and silverware followed, including a sceptre for King Haile Selassie and two croziers presented to Romford Abbey by the Right Hon. Wilfred Ash. Sykes also created numerous fountains, trophies, medals and portraits. Many of his designs are held in the Word and Image (prints and drawings) department of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The more commercial side of his practice increased during the First World War. Having been found unfit for military service, Sykes took work in a factory making acid where he narrowly escaped being blown up in an industrial accident. It was after this experience that he adopted the name 'Rilette' taken from a famous brand of cigarettes. Over the years, he produced fashion drawings, travel posters for the LNER, and cartoons. Sykes was also a painter and landscape artist. His last years were spent in rural Berkshire, where he drew everything and (according to his grandson) hated the country.

This biographical note is based on a short memoir of the artist written by his wife and an account of fabricating the Rolls Royce mascot by his daughter, Jo Sykes, which can be found at: http://www.rilette.com/ (accessed 30 May 2013). The website has been created by his grandson, Howard Phillips, and contains photos and scans of his work.

Wealth at death: £4,877 8s. 9d.
Probate date: 13 October 1950

Citing this record

'Charles Sykes', 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=msib5_1242305910, accessed 31 Mar 2023]