Sir John Newenham Summerson
(1904-1992), Architectural scholar; Director of Sir John Soane's MuseumSitter in 6 portraits
Architectural historian and writer on art. Sir John Summerson typified the professional mandarinate that dominated government and the arts after the Second World War. Educated at Harrow and the Bartlett School of Architecture, Summerson turned to writing about architecture in the early 1930s under the pseudonym 'Coolmore'. He later wrote a number of books including Architecture Here and Now (1934), Georgian London (1946), Ben Nicholson (1948) and The Life and Work of John Nash, Architect (1981). In 1945 he became Curator of Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inns Fields and remained in this post until his retirement in 1984, aged 80
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