List of public art in Victoria, London

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This is a list of public art in Victoria, a district in the City of Westminster, London.

Victoria is roughly described as the area around Victoria station. It includes the conservation areas of Broadway and Christchurch Gardens, Grosvenor Gardens and the environs of Westminster Cathedral. Particularly noteworthy examples of architectural sculpture can be found at 55 Broadway, where in 1928–1929 sculptors including Eric Gill and Henry Moore were engaged on representations of the Four Winds; two further figures, Night and Day, were carved by Jacob Epstein.[1] A great deal of public art by recent graduates of art schools in London was incorporated into Cardinal Place, a development of 2005.[2]

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
Date Artist / designer Architect / other Type Designation Notes
Blue Coat Scholar Blewcoat School, Caxton Street 1709 Statue in niche Grade I
Hercules taming the horses of Diomedes Buckingham Palace Riding School, Buckingham Palace Road 1859 William Theed James Pennethorne Relief Grade I [3]

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Statue of Sir Sydney Waterlow, 1st Baronet Westminster City School, Palace Street

51°29′52″N 0°08′21″W / 51.4978°N 0.1393°W / 51.4978; -0.1393 (Statue of Sir Sydney Waterlow, 1st Baronet)
1901 Frank Mowbray Taubman Statue Unveiled 27 June 1901. A replica of the statue in Waterlow Park, Highgate.[4]
Queen Victoria and Edward VII Caxton Hall 1902 [5]
Christ in Majesty with the Virgin and Saints Joseph, Peter and Edward Westminster Cathedral

51°29′46″N 0°08′23″W / 51.4962°N 0.1398°W / 51.4962; -0.1398 (Christ in Majesty with the Virgin and Saints Joseph, Peter and Edward)
1916 Robert Anning Bell John Francis Bentley Tympanum mosaic Grade I
(building)
Based on a sketch by Bentley dated to 1895–96 and later worked up in colour by his assistant John Marshall,[6] Bell's mosaic was criticised for its background of white tiles instead of the traditional gold.[7]

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Rifle Brigade War Memorial Grosvenor Gardens

51°29′53″N 0°08′49″W / 51.4980°N 0.1470°W / 51.4980; -0.1470 (Rifle Brigade War Memorial)
1924–1925 John Tweed Memorial with sculpture Grade II* Unveiled 25 July 1925. The rifleman in contemporary uniform in the centre is flanked by an officer (on the left) and a private in early 19th-century uniform.[8]

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Statue of Ferdinand Foch Grosvenor Gardens

51°29′47″N 0°08′43″W / 51.4964°N 0.1453°W / 51.4964; -0.1453 (Statue of Ferdinand Foch)
1930 Georges Malissard P. Lebret Equestrian statue Grade II* Unveiled 5 June 1930.[9] A replica of a statue erected outside Marshal Foch's headquarters in Cassel.[10] The choice of an existing work by a French sculptor caused some dissatisfaction. The site was chosen so that the statue would be seen by French visitors arriving in London at Victoria station.[11]
Speed Wings Over the World National Audit Office building (formerly Imperial Airways building) 1939 Eric Raymond Broadbent A. Lakeman Architectural sculpture Grade II
Saint Francis 47 Francis Street 1961 Arthur Fleischmann Henry Astley Darbishire Architectural sculpture [12]
Cameo of Queen Victoria Victoria station, Victoria line platforms 1968 Edward Bawden after Benjamin Pearce Tiled pattern Bawden produced an original linocut of the Queen's profile for this scheme but it was rejected;[13] the final design is based on a silhouette by Pearce.[14]

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Suffragette Memorial Christchurch Gardens

51°29′54″N 0°08′05″W / 51.4982°N 0.1348°W / 51.4982; -0.1348 (Suffragette Memorial)
1970 Lorne McKean and Edwin Russell Paul Edward Paget Sculpture Unveiled 14 July 1970. A bronze scroll in the shape of the letter S balancing on a conical pedestal. Part of the inscription notes that NEARBY CAXTON HALL WAS/ HISTORICALLY ASSOCIATED/ WITH WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE/ MEETINGS & DEPUTATIONS/ TO PARLIAMENT.[15]
Split Form No. 9 10 Dean Farrar Street 1983–1984 Michael Marriott Michael Lyell Associates Architectural sculpture [16]

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Statue of Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis Outside the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk

51°30′00″N 0°08′09″W / 51.500°N 0.1358°W / 51.500; -0.1358 (Statue of Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis)
1985 James Butler Statue Unveiled 9 May 1985 by the Queen Mother. Alexander had a particular affection for the old Guards Chapel (almost completely destroyed by bombing in 1944), having spent much time there as a subaltern.[17]
Planned Growth Rowan House, Greycoat Street 1986–1987 Peter Thursby Renton Howard Wood Levine Relief The Royal Society of British Sculptors awarded its silver medal for this sculpture in 1987.[18]
Chalice 123 Buckingham Palace Road

51°29′35″N 0°08′47″W / 51.4931°N 0.1465°W / 51.4931; -0.1465 (Chalice)
1991 William Pye Fountain Unveiled 24 June 1991 by Lord St John of Fawsley (according to the pavement plaque). A stainless steel basin, its circumference bounded by cables suspended from above which define a cylindrical shape in the air. The idea was suggested to the sculptor by the hanging lamps in the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo.[19]

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The Flowering of the English Baroque
Henry Purcell
Christchurch Gardens

51°29′53″N 0°08′03″W / 51.4980°N 0.1342°W / 51.4980; -0.1342 (The Flowering of the English Baroque)
1995 Glynn Williams Sculpture Unveiled 22 November 1995, the tercentenary of Purcell's death, by Princess Margaret. The sculptor described the design as "a rising explosion of activity, a tree to the musical evolution of the 17th century". This was the first major sculptural commission by Westminster City Council.[20]

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Big Painting Sculpture Cardinal Place

51°29′52″N 0°08′30″W / 51.4977°N 0.1418°W / 51.4977; -0.1418 (Big Painting Sculpture)
1996–1998 Patrick Heron Julian Feary Sculpture Commissioned when the complex was still known as Stag Place. Based on several gouache studies by Heron of brightly coloured floating shapes connected by linear patterns. Neon tubes light up the work at night.[21]

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Lioness and Lesser Kudu Grosvenor Gardens

51°29′52″N 0°08′50″W / 51.4979°N 0.1473°W / 51.4979; -0.1473 (Lioness and Lesser Kudu)
1998 Jonathan Kenworthy Sculptural group Installed on this site in 2000; another cast already stood in the grounds of Eaton Hall, the Duke of Westminster's estate in Cheshire.[22]

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Cypher Outside the Asticus Building, 21 Palmer Street

51°29′56″N 0°08′07″W / 51.4990°N 0.1352°W / 51.4990; -0.1352 (Cypher)
2003 Tim Morgan Sculpture The sculpture, commissioned by the Cass Sculpture Foundation, consists of thousands of glass rods bound together within a circular steel belt.[23]
Stacked Glass Sculpture Cardinal Place

51°29′51″N 0°08′28″W / 51.4975°N 0.1411°W / 51.4975; -0.1411 (Stacked Glass Sculpture)
2005 Tony Burke Jane Wernick Associates (engineer) Sculpture The work comprises one twisting wall of stacked green glass and another curving; these are set on a cylindrical plinth.[24]
Route Cardinal Place

51°29′49″N 0°08′26″W / 51.4970°N 0.1406°W / 51.4970; -0.1406 (Route)
2005 Joy Gerrard Panels set in pavement Nine discs of varying sizes set in the pavement of the Cardinal Place development at various points in a pedestrian's route; they are inlaid with smaller coloured discs.[25]
LP4 Cardinal Place

51°29′52″N 0°08′29″W / 51.4978°N 0.1415°W / 51.4978; -0.1415 (LP4)
2005 Nathaniel Rackowe Kinetic sculpture Two slabs of oblong welded steel panels (with a gap at the top of the grid forming a "machicolation") hold in place a thin cathode light tube; the whole structure is set into a rotating turntable flush with the pavement.[26]
Statue of Anna Pavlova Victoria Palace Theatre 2006 Harry Franchetti Frank Matcham Architectural sculpture Grade II*
Statue of Queen Victoria Victoria Square

51°29′52″N 0°08′42″W / 51.4977°N 0.1449°W / 51.4977; -0.1449 (Statue of Queen Victoria)
2008 Catherine Anne Laugel Statue Victoria is portrayed as a young woman of 20, the age she would have been when construction on the square began.[27]
Back-lit fused glass boxes InterContinental London Westminster hotel, Broadway

51°29′58″N 0°07′59″W / 51.4994°N 0.1330°W / 51.4994; -0.1330 (Back-lit fused glass boxes)
2012 Andrew Moor Associates Dexter Moren Associates Back-lit fused glass boxes [28]

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Memorial to Victims of Violence Christchurch Gardens

51°29′54″N 0°08′02″W / 51.4982°N 0.1340°W / 51.4982; -0.1340 (Memorial to Victims of Violence)
2013 (unveiled) Jim Martins Commemorative stone with plaque Unveiled 5 June 2013.[29][30]
Wind Sculpture Howick Place

51°29′48″N 0°08′14″W / 51.4968°N 0.1371°W / 51.4968; -0.1371 (Wind Sculpture)
2014 Yinka Shonibare Sculpture Unveiled 7 April 2014. The work simulates a piece of batik fabric (a signature material for Shonibare) billowing in the wind.[31]

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Flanders Fields 1914–2014 Outside the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk 2014 Piet Blanckaert Memorial The memorial garden, a gift from Belgium, was opened on 6 November 2014 by Elizabeth II; the Belgian king Philippe was also present.[32] A low circular wall, within which is planted soil from the war cemeteries of Flanders, is inscribed with the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae.[33]
Underline Victoria tube station 2015 Giles Round, Design Work Leisure Ceramic mural [34]

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Power over Others is Weakness Disguised as Strength Orchard Place 2023 Nick Hornby Sculpture Unveiled 22 June 2023.[35] Incorporates visual quotations from the equestrian statue of Richard I outside Parliament and a curling line which interrupts the text of Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy.[36]
Endangered Species Triptych Saga House, Allington Street Barry Baldwin Sidell Gibson and Associates Architectural sculpture [37]

55 Broadway[edit]

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
Date Artist / designer Architect / other Type Designation Notes
Day and Night 55 Broadway 1929 Jacob Epstein Charles Holden
North Wind 55 Broadway 1928 Alfred Horace Gerrard Charles Holden
North Wind 55 Broadway 1928 Eric Gill Charles Holden
East Wind 55 Broadway 1928 Eric Gill Charles Holden
East Wind 55 Broadway 1928 Allan G. Wyon Charles Holden
South Wind 55 Broadway 1928 Eric Gill Charles Holden
South Wind 55 Broadway 1928 Eric Aumonier Charles Holden
West Wind 55 Broadway 1928 Samuel Rabinovitch Charles Holden
West Wind 55 Broadway 1928 Henry Moore Charles Holden

References[edit]

  1. ^ Purdon 2013, passim
  2. ^ Cardinal Place, London SW1. The Davidson Arts Partnership. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. ^ Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 652.
  4. ^ Blackwood 1989, p. 101
  5. ^ Baker, Margaret (2002). Discovering London Statues and Monuments. Osprey Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 9780747804956.
  6. ^ Westminster City Council 2008, pp. 47–48
  7. ^ Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 674
  8. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 50–51
  9. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 51
  10. ^ Westminster City Council 2006, p. 50
  11. ^ "Statue of Marshal Foch". Your Archives. The National Archives. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  12. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 40.
  13. ^ Edward Bawden CBE, RA: Queen Victoria. Fry Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  14. ^ Ovenden 2013, p. 243
  15. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 30
  16. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 39.
  17. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 409–10
  18. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 50.
  19. ^ "Chalice". William Pye: Water sculpture. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  20. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 31–32
  21. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 16–17
  22. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 53–54
  23. ^ "Cypher". Morgan Sculpture. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  24. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 17
  25. ^ "Public Art Projects 2004–12". Joy Gerrard. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  26. ^ Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 17–18
  27. ^ Commission Work. Catherine Anne Laugel. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  28. ^ "Public Art". Andrew Moor Associates. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  29. ^ Memorial to the Victims of Violence Unveiled. Victims' Voice. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  30. ^ Erection of a stone memorial dedicated to victims of violence in Christchurch Gardens (PDF). Westminster City Council, Planning and City Development Committee. 10 May 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  31. ^ "Yinka Shonibare's Wind Sculpture arrives at Howick Place, Victoria". Howick Place London SW1. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  32. ^ Rayner, Gordon (6 November 2014). "Queen opens Remembrance garden created with soil from First World War battlefields". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  33. ^ The Memorial Garden 'Flanders Fields 1914–2014': Supporter booklet (PDF). Wellington Barracks. pp. 9 and 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  34. ^ Underline: Design Work Leisure. Art on the Underground. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  35. ^ Richard I or a big squiggle? Nick Hornby unveils equine sculpture in the heart of Westminster. The Art Newspaper. 23 June 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  36. ^ New public artwork by Nick Hornby. Orchard Place. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  37. ^ Barry Baldwin — Saga House. Retrieved 22 October 2010.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Blackwood, John (1989). London's Immortals: The Complete Outdoor Commemorative Statues. London and Oxford: Savoy Press. ISBN 978-0951429600.
  • Bradley, Simon; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2003). London 6: Westminster. The Buildings of England. London and New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-09595-1.
  • Ovenden, Mark (2013). London Underground by Design. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-1846144172.
  • Purdon, James (May 2013). "Unreal City". Apollo: The International Art Magazine. 178 (609): 60–65.
  • Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011). Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1. Public Sculpture of Britain. Vol. 14. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-691-3.