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Leaping Hare on Crescent and Bell by Barry Flanagan in Broadgate Arena
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Broadgate near Liverpool Street station is the location of a number of fascinating works of art, one of the most popular is Leaping Hare on Crescent and Bell by Barry Flanagan. Flanagan was born in 1941, in North Wales. In the 1950s, he studied architecture at Birmingham College of Art and Crafts and sculpture at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London from 1964 to 1966.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
He was best known for several permanent public sculptures, such as his giant bronze Hare on Bell in Man in New York, Thinker on a Rock in Washington, D.C and Leaping Hare on Crescent and Bell at Broadgate. The sculpture in Broadgate is made of patinated bronze and was unveiled in 1988.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
All these sculptures show the playfulness of Flanagan’s work, play was an important aspect of his work. He had his first solo show in London in 1960s followed by exhibitions in Amsterdam, in Berne and the Hayward Gallery.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
In his later work, the hare became Flanagan’s emblem, he was fascinated by its fun and symbolic nature. Flanagan’s hares are well known public sculptures all around the world. Flanagan died in 2009 of motor neurone disease.
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Great London Sculptures: The Broad Family by Xavier Corberó in Broadgate
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Broad Family is a series of sculptures on a massive scale but is a family portrait of two parents with a child and even a dog with a ball. Although the family is created in an abstract form, if you look closer, two highly polished shoes can be seen peeking from under the child’s figure. This surreal aspect shows the artist ability to use materials and space and offers the odd surprise.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Xavier Corberó was a Catalan sculptor, best known for his public sculpture and was also the designer of the 1992 Summer Olympics medals.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Corberó was born in 1935 in Barcelona and studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London in the 1950s. In the 1960s, the artist acquired an house and plot of land in Esplugues de Llobregat, a village in the outskirts of Barcelona, and developed a complex for artists and exhibition spaces. The complex also houses a significant sample of Corberó’s sculptures and personal collections.
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Corberó had his first individual exhibition in Munich in 1963 and had exhibitions in New York City, Japan, and many European cities. His large sculptures can be seen in Barcelona, London, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Beirut, Kuwait City, Chicago, and New York City.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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London Sculptures : Sherlock Holmes by John Doubleday in Baker Street
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
One of London’s most famous fictional characters is Sherlock Holmes created by Arthur Conan Doyle, despite his fame, there was no statue to the great detective in London until 1999. A statue was previously suggested by a number of writers including G. K. Chesterton but these suggestions came to nothing.
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A campaign for a statue gained momentum in the late 1990s with Abbey National offering to fund the statue because of their connection with Holmes. Abbey National had their headquarters at 215-229 Baker Street and they employed a member of staff to respond to any letters addressed to Holmes at 221B.
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The sculptor, John Doubleday who was commissioned for the project had already produced a statue of Holmes for the town of Meiringen in Switzerland, below the Reichenbach Falls whence the detective fell to his apparent death in the story “The Final Problem”.
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The 3-metre-high (9.8 ft) statue entitled The Great Detective depicts Holmes wearing his deerstalker hat and holding a pipe in a traditional pose made famous by Sidney Paget, the illustrator of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories for The Strand Magazine.
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The statue which was unveiled in 1999 is located outside Baker Street Station and has became a popular attraction for Sherlock Holmes fans from all over the world.
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Great London Sculptures: The Broadgate Venus by Fernando Botero
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Broadgate Venus is a five tonnes sculpture by Colombian artist Fernando Botero located in Exchange Square near to Liverpool Street Station. The ‘Venus’ was specially commissioned in 1989 and is a ‘favourite’ amongst the city workers and locals.
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The Venus is an example of “Boterismo”, a style developed by Colombian artist Fernando Botero which depicts people and figures in large exaggerated form for political or humorous effect.
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Botero was born in Medellín was once enrolled in matador school before his artistic talent was recognised.
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Botero’s work was first exhibited in 1948 in Colombia before he travelled to Barcelona and Madrid. where he studied at the Academia de San Fernando. In the 1950s, Botero moved to Paris and Florence to study before making Paris his permanent home although he makes regular trips to his native city of Medellin.
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Botero is considered one of the leading artists in Latin America and his art is found in many major cities around the world. His art is collected by many major international museums, corporations, and private collectors.
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Great London Sculptures: Kindertransport – The Arrival by Frank Meisler at Liverpool Street Station
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Kindertransport – The Arrival is a bronze memorial sculpture by Frank Meisler which is located in the entrance to Liverpool Street station in London. The sculpture commemorates the 10,000 Jewish children who escaped Nazi persecution and arrived at the station during 1938–1939. The memorial was installed in 2006 and was commissioned by World Jewish Relief and the Association of Jewish Refugees.
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The Kindertransport was a rescue effort that took place just before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was estimated that the United Kingdom took in around 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. The children were placed in a variety of foster homes, hostels and schools. This action saved the life of the children because they were often the only members of their families who survived the Holocaust.
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Frank Meisler who created the sculpture had a personal experience of Kindertransport, Frank Meisler was born into a Jewish family in Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland), he was evacuated by the Kindertransport in 1939, travelling with other Jewish children via Berlin to the Netherlands and then to Liverpool Street station in London. His parents were arrested after his departure and were later murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp.
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Meisler was raised by a grandmother, who lived in London and did national service in the Royal Air Force before studying architecture at the University of Manchester.
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He moved to Israel in 1960 and has created a number of Kindertransport memorials all around Europe and sculptures in Israel and Russia.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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London Sculptures: The Meeting Place by Paul Day at St Pancras Railway Station
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Meeting Place is a 9-metre-high (30 ft), 20-tonne bronze sculpture stands on the upper level of St Pancras railway station near the Eurostar terminal.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The sculpture was designed by the British artist Paul Day and unveiled in 2007 and was commissioned to be the centrepiece of the newly refurbished station.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The sculpture of a couple locked in a embrace is intended to illustrate the romance of travel. Around the bronze relief frieze around the plinth is several scenes depicting various passengers undertaking travel.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The sculpture received a poor reception from art critics but has been become popular with the public. It has led to the reputation of St Pancras station being a romantic meeting place.
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The sculpture was commissioned by London & Continental Railways and offers an unusual experience by taking different views from different vantage points in the station.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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London Statues: Fearless Girl in Paternoster Square
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Fearless Girl by Kristen Visbal was made famous for being sited in 2017 near the Wall Street’s bull in New York. The statue was a hit with tourists and the internet.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
A copy of the statue of was installed in March in the City of London’s financial district to highlight the importance of female leaders in business.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Situated near St Paul’s, Fearless Girl seems a little lonely with only Elizabeth Frink’s sheep statue for company.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The statue is expected to remain in Paternoster Square until the end of June.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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Great London Sculptures: The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin in Victoria Tower Gardens
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Visitors to the Houses of Parliament, often ignore the Victoria Tower Gardens nearby. The gardens offer some wonderful riverfront views and have pieces of art to admire. One of the largest and most prestigious is The Burghers of Calais, by French sculptor, Auguste Rodin.
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Appropriately, considering it is within the shadow of the Houses of Parliament it represents the idea of freedom from oppression. The sculpture is based on an incident during the Hundred Years War, Calais had been surrounded for a year by English soldiers under King Edward III when in 1347, six leading citizens of Calais, the Burghers, offered to die if Edward spared the rest of the town’s people.
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It was this moment of heroic self-sacrifice that Rodin captures in his sculpture. In the end, an intervention by Edward’s wife, Queen Philippa pleaded on the Burghers behalf and they and the people of Calais were allowed to leave.
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Rodin was commissioned to undertake this work of art in the 1880s and his original sculpture was completed in 1889 and took pride of place outside Calais town hall. Rodin later made a number of casts, this one was bought by the National Art Collection Fund in 1911 and the artist himself came to London to give advice on where the sculpture should be erected.
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This particular sculpture was cast in 1908, installed in 1914 and unveiled in 1915. Over the last century, the sculpture is considered to be one of Rodin greatest works and further casts have been installed in museums and art galleries all over the world.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
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Great London Sculptures : Paddington Bear Statue by Marcus Cornish at Paddington Station
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
London railway stations have featured in many books over the years, however in the Paddington Bear books, our cuddly hero is named after Paddington Station. The station plays a very important role in the books because it is within the station where he was first found by Mr. and Mrs. Brown when he arrives in London from Peru and the reason he got his name.
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To commemorate this relationship, there is a life-sized bronze statue of Paddington in the station which was designed by the sculptor Marcus Cornish. The statue was unveiled by the Paddington Bear series author Michael Bond in 2000.
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Michael Bond was working as a television cameraman for the BBC that he first came up with the idea for Paddington. He bought a small toy bear for his wife and named it Paddington because they were living near Paddington Station at the time. He began to write some stories about the bear and eventually his very first book “A Bear Called Paddington” was accepted by a publisher and published in 1958. Since the first book, Paddington books have sold more than thirty-five million copies worldwide and have been translated into over forty different languages.
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Michael Bond lived in London, not far from Paddington Station where he continued to write until shortly before he died in 2017, aged 91.
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In the books, we found out that Paddington originally came from Peru where he was brought up by his Aunt Lucy. When Aunt Lucy went to live in the Home for Retired Bears in Lima, she decided to send him to England to live. He was found by the Browns sitting on a small suitcase near the lost property office wearing a hat with a label round his neck with the words “Please Look After This Bear. Thank You.” Paddington is famous for his love of marmalade and especially marmalade sandwiches.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The sculpture recreates this scene, with Paddington sitting under a large clock with his suitcase waiting to be rescued.
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Paddington has also achieved fame on television and more recently films, one strange but true fact is that the very first Paddington bear soft toy was designed in the UK by Shirley Clarkson who just happens to be the mother of TV personality Jeremy Clarkson. Now Paddington has his own shop on Paddington Station.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Nearby the statue is a colourful Paddington bench and plaque marking the making of the first Paddington film in 2013 and mentions that some of the scenes were filmed in the station.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
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There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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Great London Sculptures: John Betjeman Statue by Martin Jennings at St Pancras Railway Station
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The statue of John Betjeman at St Pancras railway station by the sculptor Martin Jennings was unveiled in 2007 celebrate the connection between St Pancras station and Betjeman.
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The poet John Betjeman was supporter of Victorian architecture and was one of the leading lights to protect important Victorian buildings. After the destruction of the Euston Arch in 1961, Betjeman led the campaign to save St Pancras which was under threat from plans to demolish St Pancras Station, the Midland Hotel and King’s Cross station. The campaign led to St Pancras receiving Grade I listed building status for the station and hotel in 1967 which led to its survival.
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During the late 20th century and early 21st century, St Pancras was renovated in a multi-million pound restoration and the station is considered one of the great railway stations in the world. During the restoration, plans were made to create a statue of John Betjeman by the sculptor Martin Jennings.
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The statue of Betjeman is made of bronze and is larger than life-size being 8.5ft and shows the poet in a suit, mackintosh and trilby hat. The poet holds his hat as he gazes up at the beloved roof of the station. The statue stands on Cumbrian slate which has words from some of Betjeman’s poems.
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The text reads: “And in the shadowless unclouded glare, Deep blue above us fades to whiteness where, A misty sealine meets the wash of air. / John Betjeman, 1906 – 1984, poet, who saved this glorious station”.
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Since its unveiling, the statue has become a popular attraction in its own right which many consider a worthy tribute to the well loved poet and his fight to save the station.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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