Frank Szirmay

Szirmay began his career as a painter, but in the 1970s gained a national reputation as a sculptor of bronze figures in the Academic Realist tradition.

Young Nick - bronze figure of Nicholas Young, unveiled in 1969 by Governor-General Sir Arthur Porritt at Churchill Park on Waikanae Beach, Gisborne as part of the Cook Bicentenary Celebrations, which commemorated the first sighting of New Zealand on James Cook's voyage in 1769.

[1] Tangaroa is portrayed as a crouching warrior grasping a taiaha, and in recent years was moved to face harbour visitors.

[5] The Spirit of Napier - bronze figure of a slender 'golden girl', with arms upraised on a high column.

[1] The statue was gifted to the city by the late Dr Thomas Gilray, a former superintendent of the Napier Hospital.

Young Nick statue, Gisborne.
Young Nick statue, Gisborne.
Frank Szirmay'a representation of Tangaroa in bronze with Mount Maunganui in the background
Frank Szirmay'a representation of Tangaroa in bronze with Mount Maunganui in the background.
The Gilray Fountain, better known as the Spirit of Napier, along Marine Parade in Napier, New Zealand.
The Gilray Fountain, better known as the Spirit of Napier, along Marine Parade in Napier, New Zealand.