A Quaker Meeting

This is a sculpture by Peter Peri (1899 - 1967), which is on display at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre.

The artist was born Ladislas Weisz, on June 13, 1899 in Budapest, Hungary. Antisemitism caused his family to change their name to the more Hungarian "Péri". When he moved to Germany, he was known as Laszlo Péri. After he moved to England, he adopted the name "Peter Peri". His grandson, born in 1971, an artist, also has the name Peter Peri.

In Berlin, he joined the Der Sturm group of artists and in 1922, exhibited Constructivist sculpture in a joint show with László Moholy-Nagy. He worked in an architectural office from 1924 to 1927, with a view to qualifying as an architect. He returned to sculpture in 1928, but in a realist style.

In 1935, he and his wife moved to Hampstead in London. In 1939, he became a British citizen and took the name "Peter Peri". He made etchings and continued to work in sculpture, producing groups of small figures, usually engaged in co-operative ventures. Many public buildings were adorned with his work. When the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum opened in 1960, Peri was commissioned to "represent the life and activities [of Coventry] in modern terms and materials"; the work is known simply as The Coventry sculpture.

Peri joined the Quaker faith and produced a small bronze sculpture of a Quaker Meeting. It's much loved by all who have visited Woodbrooke and seen it. This weekend I was there for Quaker Life Representative Council, discussing how we can develop our Quaker community, together with representatives from Area Meetings across Britain. It was a stimulating and joyous gathering, with much laughter and singing as well as serious discussion.