List of public art in Trafalgar Square and the vicinity

This is a list of public art in and around Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London.

Charing Cross, at the junction of Strand and Whitehall, was the site of the first public monument in what is now the City of Westminster,[1] the cross commissioned by Edward I late in the 13th century in memory of his queen, Eleanor of Castile. Destroyed by order of the Long Parliament in 1647,[2] the Eleanor cross was replaced after the Restoration by the equestrian statue of Charles I by Hubert Le Sueur, the oldest public sculpture now standing in the borough.[3] In 1865 a facsimile of the cross was erected in the forecourt of Charing Cross railway station. Charing Cross was declared the official centre of London in 1831[4] and a plaque marking this status was installed near Le Sueur's statue in 1955.[5]

Immediately to the north of Charing Cross lies Trafalgar Square, one of London's most famous public spaces.[6] Conceived as part of John Nash's urban improvements, the square was initially developed from the 1820s onwards.[7] Its centrepiece, Nelson's Column, was constructed in 1839–1842. Charles Barry's 1840 redesign of the square provided plinths for equestrian monuments to George IV and William IV, but sufficient funds were never raised for the latter statue.[8] Most of the memorials since added have had a military or naval flavour, an exception being the statue of the physician Edward Jenner, erected in 1858 but moved to Kensington Gardens only four years later. Another work which originally stood on the square is Hamo Thornycroft's statue of General Gordon; this was removed during World War II and reinstalled on the Victoria Embankment in 1953.

Since 1999 the formerly empty fourth plinth on Trafalgar Square has become London's most prominent showcase for temporary new sculpture.[9]

Charing Cross

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes

More images
Statue of Charles I Charing Cross

51.5073°N 0.1277°W / 51.5073; -0.1277 (Equestrian statue of Charles I)
1633Hubert Le SueurChristopher Wren Equestrian statue Grade I The earliest Renaissance-style equestrian statue in England. Originally commissioned in 1630 by Charles I's Lord High Treasurer, Lord Richard Weston, for his estate in Roehampton. Erected on the site of the Charing Cross in 1674–1675, when it was set on its current pedestal.[10] The reliefs were carved by Joshua Marshall, Master Mason to Charles II.[11]

Charing Cross station

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes

More images
Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross
Eleanor of Castile
Forecourt of Charing Cross railway station

51.5084°N 0.1254°W / 51.5084; -0.1254 (Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross)
1865Thomas EarpEdward Middleton Barry Memorial with sculpture Grade II* A replica of the original Eleanor cross at Charing, with some details inspired by the Oxford Martyrs' Memorial. It stands some distance away from the original location of the Charing Cross.[12]
Platform murals Charing Cross tube station 1979David GentlemanN/A Murals N/A The murals on the Northern line platforms depict the construction of the medieval Charing Cross; they are reproduced from woodcuts by Gentleman at twenty times their original size.[13] The murals for the Jubilee and Bakerloo lines feature photographs of Nelson's Column and paintings in the National Gallery.[14]

Cockspur Street

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes
Commerce Norway House 1914Louis Frederick RoseliebMetcalfe & Greig [15]
Transport Norway House 1914Louis Frederick RoseliebMetcalfe & Greig [15]
Industry Norway House 1914Louis Frederick RoseliebMetcalfe & Greig [15]
Communications Norway House 1914Louis Frederick RoseliebMetcalfe & Greig [15]
Asia and Britannia Brazilian Embassy 1918Ernest George GillickH. W. Stock and A. T. Bolton Caryatids Grade II [16]
Statue of Olaf II of Norway Norway House Gustav LærumJohannes Thorvaldsen Westbye (Modification of building by Metcalfe & Grieg) Statue in niche

St Martin's Place

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes

More images
Memorial to Edith Cavell St Martin's Place

51.5093°N 0.1272°W / 51.5093; -0.1272 (Memorial to Edith Cavell)
1920George FramptonN/A Pylon with sculpture Grade I Unveiled 17 March 1920 by Queen Alexandra. The earliest World War I memorial project in England; plans for it began soon after Cavell's death in 1915. The inscription FOR KING AND COUNTRY was felt to be a travesty of Cavell's beliefs; in 1924 another was added with her words, PATRIOTISM IS NOT ENOUGH/ I MUST HAVE NO HATRED OR/ BITTERNESS FOR ANYONE.[17]
Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay St Martin's Place façade (over entrance) Ewan Christian Grade II
Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope St Martin's Place façade (over entrance) Ewan Christian Grade II
Thomas Carlyle St Martin's Place façade (over entrance) Ewan Christian Grade II
William Lodge St Martin's Place façade (facing north) Ewan Christian Grade II
Thomas Fuller St Martin's Place façade Ewan Christian Grade II
James Granger St Martin's Place façade (facing north) Ewan Christian Grade II
William Faithorne St Martin's Place façade (facing north) Ewan Christian Grade II
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon St Martin's Place façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Horace Walpole St Martin's Place façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Hans Holbein the Younger Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Sir Anthony van Dyck Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Sir Peter Lely Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Sir Godfrey Kneller Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II
William Hogarth Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Sir Joshua Reynolds Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Louis-François Roubiliac Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Sir Thomas Lawrence Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II
Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey Irving Street façade Ewan Christian Grade II

Trafalgar Square

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes

More images
Statue of George IV North-eastern plinth, Trafalgar Square

51.5083°N 0.1276°W / 51.5083; -0.1276 (Equestrian statue of George IV)
1830Francis Legatt ChantreyCharles Barry Equestrian statue Grade II Originally intended to be the crowning feature of Marble Arch, the decorative scheme of which was cut back after George IV's death. The statue still had no home after Chantrey's death in 1843 and in December of that year it was erected in the newly laid-out Trafalgar Square.[18]


More images
Statue of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson Centre of Trafalgar Square

51.5077°N 0.1279°W / 51.5077; -0.1279 (Nelson's Column)
1839–1842Edward Hodges BailyWilliam Railton Statue on column Grade I Nelson is shown without an eyepatch, but his portrayal in this statue is not idealised by the standards of the time. The figure is given stability by the coil of rope behind. Portland stone was chosen over bronze as the statue "would [then] not be resorted to as plunder in revolutions".[19]

More images
The Battle of Trafalgar or The Death of Nelson South face of pedestal of Nelson's Column 1846–1849John Edward CarewN/A Bas-relief Grade I Nelson is depicted immediately after receiving his mortal wound; Captain Hardy turns back towards him whilst sailors to the left take aim at the marksman who dealt the fatal blow. Inscribed at the bottom ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY.[20]

More images
The Battle of the Nile North face of pedestal of Nelson's Column 1846–1850William F. WoodingtonN/A Bas-relief Grade I Nelson has been taken below deck after being wounded in the head during the attack on the French fleet in Abu Qir Bay. Captain Edward Berry stands by his side.[21]

More images
The Bombardment of Copenhagen East face of pedestal of Nelson's Column 1846–1854John TernouthN/A Bas-relief Grade I Nelson, on board his flagship HMS Elephant, applies his seal to an ultimatum directed at the Crown Prince of Denmark. The city of Copenhagen is visible in the background.[22]

More images
The Battle of Cape St Vincent West face of pedestal of Nelson's Column 1846–1854Musgrave Watson and William F. WoodingtonN/A Bas-relief Grade I Nelson is on board a Spanish ship, the San Nicolas. A Spanish officer kneels in front of Nelson, surrendering the swords of his fellow officers. Watson died in 1847 before he could complete the work.[23]

More images
Statue of Charles James Napier South-western plinth, Trafalgar Square

51.5077°N 0.1286°W / 51.5077; -0.1286 (Statue of Charles James Napier)
1855George Gammon AdamsN/A Statue Grade II Unveiled 26 November 1856. Napier holds a scroll out in his right hand, a gesture which symbolises the giving of government to Sindh. The statue was much criticised, The Art Journal calling it "perhaps the worst piece of sculpture in England".[24]

More images
Statue of Henry Havelock South-eastern plinth, Trafalgar Square

51.5079°N 0.1274°W / 51.5079; -0.1274 (Statue of Henry Havelock)
1861William BehnesN/A Statue Grade II Unveiled 10 April 1861. The pedestal is inscribed at the front with a quotation from one of Havelock's pre-battle speeches, and to the rear with a list of British and Indian regiments commanded by him during the Indian Mutiny. This was the first statue ever to be modelled from a photograph.[25]


More images
Four lions At the foot of Nelson's Column 1867Edwin LandseerN/A Statues Grade I Unveiled 31 January 1867. Landseer, an animal painter with no previous experience in sculpture, was assisted by Carlo Marochetti.[26]


More images
Bust of John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe Balustrade of Trafalgar Square

51.5083°N 0.1278°W / 51.5083; -0.1278 (Bust of John Jellicoe)
1948Charles WheelerEdwin Lutyens Bust Grade II* The Jellicoe and Beatty memorials were unveiled on 21 October 1948 (Trafalgar Day) by the Duke of Gloucester. Each memorial consists of a fountain (adapted from those designed by Charles Barry and installed in 1845) with two bronze sculptural groups and, up against the north wall of the square, a bust of the admiral in question.[27]
Jellicoe Memorial Fountain Western fountain of Trafalgar Square

51.5080°N 0.1284°W / 51.5080; -0.1284 (Jellicoe Memorial Fountain)
1948Charles WheelerEdwin Lutyens Fountain with two sculptural groups Grade II* For both memorial fountains Lutyens retained Barry's cusped quatrefoil-shaped basins and added the vase-shaped central fountains. In the Jellicoe fountain, one of the bronze groups comprises a mermaid with two merchildren and dolphins perched on a shell; the other has a triton with a merchild and dolphins on a shell.[27]

More images
Bust of David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty Balustrade of Trafalgar Square

51.5084°N 0.1277°W / 51.5084; -0.1277 (Bust of David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty)
1948William McMillanEdwin Lutyens Bust Grade II* During the 2003 refurbishment of the square the busts were moved to the eastern side of the new steps; they previously faced their associated fountains.[27] A square plaque near the centre of the square marks the dedication of the fountains and busts:

THESE FOUNTAINS AND/ THE BUSTS AGAINST THE/ NORTH WALL OF THE/ SQUARE WERE ERECTED/ BY PARLIAMENT TO THE/ MEMORY OF THE ADMIRALS OF/ THE FLEET EARL JELLICOE/ AND EARL BEATTY TO THE/ END THAT THEIR ILLUSTRIOUS/ SERVICES TO THE STATE/ MIGHT NEVER BE FORGOTTEN[28]

Beatty Memorial Fountain Eastern fountain of Trafalgar Square

51.5081°N 0.1277°W / 51.5081; -0.1277 (Beatty Memorial Fountain)
1948William McMillanEdwin Lutyens Fountain with two sculptural groups Grade II* One bronze sculptural group consists of a mermaid riding on a dolphin and holding smaller dolphins under her arms, with a shoal of small sharks in the rear; the other depicts an equivalent grouping with a triton in place of the mermaid.[27]

More images
Bust of Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope Balustrade of Trafalgar Square

51.5083°N 0.1280°W / 51.5083; -0.1280 (Bust of Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope)
1967Franta BelskyN/A Bust Grade II* Unveiled 2 April 1967 by the Duke of Edinburgh. The bust contains a half-pint bottle of Guinness and a note written by the sculptor.[29]
Endangered Species and portrait heads Grand Buildings, Strand and Northumberland Avenue 1991 c.1991Barry BaldwinSidell Gibson and Associates Reliefs N/A
Tile murals Subway under Trafalgar Square 1992FreeForm Arts TrustN/A Tile murals N/A A scheme depicting scenes from the history of Trafalgar Square.[30][31]

The architectural sculpture of the National Gallery was originally intended for John Nash's Marble Arch. Construction of the latter was begun in 1827 but ceased after the death of George IV in 1830.[32]

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes

More images
Statue of James II Lawn in front of the south façade

51.5085°N 0.1291°W / 51.5085; -0.1291 (Statue of James II)
1686Peter Van Dievoet and Laurence Vandermeulen for the Workshop of Grinling GibbonsN/A Statue Grade I Commissioned by the royal servant Tobias Rustat for a site outside the Palace of Whitehall. One of three statues of Stuart monarchs commissioned by him, the others being those of Charles II at the Chelsea Royal Hospital and Windsor Castle. It was erected on the present site in 1946.[33]
Minerva East façade 1826 c.1826John Flaxman; completed by Edward Hodges BailyWilliam Wilkins Architectural sculpture Grade I Conceived as a figure of Britannia brandishing a trident and a shield bearing the head of Nelson. When Flaxman died in 1826 the work was continued by Baily; he also recarved the shield and replaced the trident with a spear.[34]
Europe and Asia Main portico, south façade 1827–1830 c.1827–1830John Charles Felix RossiWilliam Wilkins Sculptural group Grade I This group previously represented Europe and Asia Exalting Wellington. The relief of the Duke of Wellington's head which originally occupied the central shield now hangs inside the National Gallery's offices.[32]
Victories and Trophies East and west entrance porticoes, south façade 1827–1830 c.1827–1830Attributed to Edward Hodges BailyWilliam Wilkins Statues in niches Grade I These figures' weapons were removed and in some cases repaced by artistic implements.[32][35]

More images
Statue of George Washington Lawn in front of the south façade

51.5087°N 0.1276°W / 51.5087; -0.1276 (Statue of George Washington)
1921Gorham Manufacturing Company, after Jean-Antoine HoudonN/A Statue Grade II Unveiled 30 June 1921. A bronze cast of Houdon's 1796 marble statue for the Virginia State Capitol. The state of Virginia offered the cast to London in 1914 to mark the centenary of the Treaty of Ghent, and thus of Anglo-American peace.[36]

St Martin-in-the-Fields

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes
Royal Coat of Arms Portico of St Martin-in-the-Fields 1721–1726 c.1721–1726Christopher Cass, SeniorJames Gibbs Pediment relief Grade I [37]

More images
John Law Baker Memorial Drinking Fountain Churchyard of St Martin-in-the-Fields

51.5087°N 0.1263°W / 51.5087; -0.1263 (John Law Baker Memorial Fountain)
1886?N/A Drinking fountain with sculpture Grade II A truncated fluted column with lion's-head fountains on two sides, their basins now filled in. Inscribed IN MEMORY OF JOHN LAW BAKER/ FORMERLY OF THE MADRAS ARMY/ BORN 1789‍‌DIED 1886.[38]
William Gilson Humphry Memorial Drinking Fountain Adelaide Street, adjacent to corner with Duncannon Street

51.5087°N 0.1260°W / 51.5087; -0.1260 (William Gilson Humphry Memorial Drinking Fountain)
1886?N/A Drinking fountain Grade II A basic granite drinking fountain set into the churchyard wall of St Martin's, where Humphry was vicar from 1815 until his death in 1886. Restored with a replica bronze lion mash spout in about 1989, but this is no longer visible on the memorial.[39]

More images
A Conversation with Oscar Wilde Adelaide Street, near St Martin-in-the-Fields

51.5088°N 0.1259°W / 51.5088; -0.1259 (A Conversation with Oscar Wilde)
1998Maggi HamblingN/A Memorial with sculpture N/A Unveiled 30 November 1998. A bronze sculpture of Wilde's head and hand (complete with cigarette) emerges from a granite, coffin-shaped plinth. Inscribed with a quotation from Lady Windermere's Fan (1892): We are all/ in the gutter/ but some of us/ are looking at/ the stars.[40]

More images
Christ Child Portico of St Martin-in-the-Fields

51.5088°N 0.1271°W / 51.5088; -0.1271 (Christ Child)
1999Michael ChapmanN/A Sculpture N/A A relief of a newborn baby with the umbilical cord still uncut, seemingly emerging from a block of Portland stone. The inscription running around the sides reads IN THE BEGINNING/ WAS THE WORD‍‌AND THE/ WORD BECAME FLESH/ AND LIVED AMONG US/ St John 1:1,14.[41]
Poem

Natalie Skilbeck

North of St Martin-in-the-Fields

51.5090°N 0.1261°W / 51.5090; -0.1261 (Poem)
2008Tom Perkins (lettering)Eric Parry Inscription around balustrade N/A The balustrade of a light well is inscribed with a poem by Andrew Motion in stainless steel letters, individually cast.[42] Natalie Skilbeck was a traveller on her gap year killed in a road accident in Mauritius in 2004.[43]

South Africa House

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes

More images
Statue of Bartolomeu Dias South Africa House, Trafalgar Square 1934Coert SteynbergHerbert Baker Statue in niche Grade II* [44]

More images
Winged springbok South Africa House, Trafalgar Square 1934Charles WheelerHerbert Baker Architectural sculpture Grade II* [45]

See also

References

  1. Ward-Jackson 2011, p. xix.
  2. Mace 2005, p. 23.
  3. Westminster City Council, p. 8.
  4. White 2011, p. 101.
  5. "Charing Cross", Oxford Index, Oxford University Press, retrieved 3 October 2013
  6. Trafalgar Square, Greater London Authority, retrieved 28 February 2015
  7. Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 285.
  8. Mace 2005, p. 111.
  9. "Public art in London", Museum of London blog, Museum of London, 14 November 2012, retrieved 7 February 2014
  10. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 288–291.
  11. "Drawing", British Museum Collection Database, retrieved 3 April 2012
  12. Historic England. "Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross (1236708)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  13. Webb & Skipwith 2009, pp. 76–77.
  14. Ovenden 2013, p. 249.
  15. Sculptural Decoration on Norway House by Louis Frederick Roslyn (1878–1934), 9 August 2011, archived from the original on 20 June 2013, retrieved 12 April 2013
  16. Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 339.
  17. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 245–258.
  18. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 293–295.
  19. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 278–279.
  20. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 280–281.
  21. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 281–282.
  22. Ward-Jackson 2011, p. 282.
  23. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 283–284.
  24. Blackwood 1989, p. 257.
  25. Blackwood 1989, p. 258.
  26. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 284–287.
  27. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 300–303.
  28. "Jellicoe & Beatty", London Remembers, retrieved 17 August 2014
  29. "Bust of Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope by Franta Belsky", Your Archives, The National Archives, archived from the original on 24 February 2013, retrieved 10 October 2011
  30. Pearson, Lynn, "Postwar murals database", Academia.edu, retrieved 17 August 2014
  31. "Tile mural in Trafalgar Square, London", The Joy of Shards, retrieved 17 August 2014
  32. Conlin 2006, p. 375.
  33. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 291–293.
  34. Crookham 2009, p. 15.
  35. The National Gallery, London, Art UK, retrieved 2 February 2021
  36. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 299–300.
  37. Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 292.
  38. "John Law Baker fountain", London Remembers, retrieved 20 April 2013
  39. "St Martin-in-the-Fields Churchyard", London Gardens Online, London Parks & Gardens Trust, retrieved 25 April 2013
  40. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 4–5.
  41. Ward-Jackson 2011, pp. 248–249.
  42. St Martin-in-the-Fields Poem, Modus Operandi, retrieved 22 September 2014
  43. "Two die in gap year accidents", BBC News, 28 October 2004, retrieved 29 July 2012
  44. Ben Weinreb, ed. (2008). The London Encyclopaedia (Third ed.). pp. 866–876. ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5.
  45. WHEELER, SIR CHARLES Archived 2011-10-06 at Archive.today Accessed 23 August 2010

Bibliography

  • 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
  • Conlin, Jonathan (2006), The Nation's Mantelpiece: A History of the National Gallery, London: Pallas Athene, ISBN 978-1-84368-018-5
  • Crookham, Alan (2009), The National Gallery. An Illustrated History, London: National Gallery Company, ISBN 9-781-85709-463-3
  • Mace, Rodney (2005), Trafalgar Square: Emblem of Empire, London: Lawrence and Wishart, ISBN 1-905007-11-6
  • Ovenden, Mark (2013), London Underground by Design, London: Penguin, ISBN 978-1846144172
  • Ward-Jackson, Philip (2011), Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1, Public Sculpture of Britain, 14, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, ISBN 978-1-84631-691-3
  • Webb, Brian; Skipwith, Peyton (2009), David Gentleman: Design, Woodbridge: Antique Collectors' Club, ISBN 978-1851495955
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.