List of public art in Belgravia

This is a list of public art in Belgravia, a district in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. The area is mainly composed of early 19th-century residential buildings, many of which now serve diplomatic uses.[1] Several of the figures commemorated here were influential in the early development of Belgravia under the ownership of the Grosvenor family (later the Dukes of Westminster). Belgrave Square, which gives the locale its name,[2] has a particularly high number of embassies; its public sculptures are therefore of a pronounced international character.[3]

City of Westminster

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes
Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster Memorial Drinking Fountain Junction of Pimlico Road and Avery Farm Row

51.4911°N 0.1503°W / 51.4911; -0.1503 (Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster Memorial Drinking Fountain)
c.1870Salviati (mosaics)Thomas Henry Wyatt Drinking fountain Grade II An Italian Renaissance-style drinking fountain of Portland stone and granite, with mosaic panels.[4][5][6]
Fountainhead Halkin Arcade

51.4994°N 0.1573°W / 51.4994; -0.1573 (Fountainhead)
1971Geoffrey WickhamN/A Sculpture N/A Commissioned by Sotheby's, this work won the Royal British Society of Sculptors' Silver Medal in 1972 for the most distinguished new sculpture in London.[7][8]

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Statue of Simón Bolívar Belgrave Square

51.4992°N 0.1522°W / 51.4992; -0.1522 (Statue of Simón Bolívar)
1974Hugo DainiN/A Statue N/A Unveiled by James Callaghan, then Foreign Secretary, and the Venezuelan president Rafael Caldera. The statue of Bolívar in London is said to represent him as a maker of constitutions, in contrast to those in Madrid, Rome and Paris, which are equestrian. The quotation on the pedestal stresses his admiration for British institutions: I am convinced that England alone is capable of protecting the world's precious rights as she is great, glorious and wise.[9]
Great Flora L Chesham Place

51.4977°N 0.1548°W / 51.4977; -0.1548 (Great Flora L)
1978Fritz KoenigN/A Sculpture N/A The sculpture stands outside the extension to the German Embassy, with which it is contemporary.[10] It was conceived as "a fragile 'call-sign' in the heart of the surging metropolis".[11] Flora I, a work by the same artist, is in the garden of the German Chancellery in Berlin.[12]
Hercules Ormonde Place

51.4909°N 0.1539°W / 51.4909; -0.1539 (Hercules)
1981?N/A Statue N/A A small, bronze replica of the Farnese Hercules. Pedestal inscribed HERCULES/ THIS STATUE IS EXHIBITED/ BY WATES LIMITED/ MAY 1981.

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Homage to Leonardo
Leonardo da Vinci
Belgrave Square Gardens 1982Enzo Plazzotta and Mark HollowayN/A Sculpture N/A Based on Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man. Completed by Holloway, Plazzotta's studio assistant, after the elder sculptor's death in 1981. Funded by the American construction magnate John M. Harbert.[13]

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Statue of Christopher Columbus Belgrave Square

51.4985°N 0.1536°W / 51.4985; -0.1536 (Statue of Christopher Columbus)
1992Tomás BañuelosN/A Statue N/A Given by the people of Spain in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage. His birth date is mistakenly given as 1446 on the pedestal.[14]

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Statue of José de San Martín Belgrave Square

51.5000°N 0.1535°W / 51.5000; -0.1535 (Statue of José de San Martín)
1994Juan Carlos FerraroN/A Statue N/A A gift of the Anglo-Argentine community in Argentina, unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh.[15] San Martín is depicted in general's uniform with his bicorne hat held casually in his right hand, while in his left he holds a trailing sword below the hilt. An inscription reads His name represents democracy, justice and liberty.[16]

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Statue of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Orange Square, corner of Ebury Street and Pimlico Road

51.4908°N 0.1529°W / 51.4908; -0.1529 (Statue of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
1994Philip JacksonN/A Statue N/A The composer is portrayed at the age of eight, when he stayed at 180 Ebury Street for the summer and autumn of 1764; he wrote his first two symphonies there. The statue was proposed to mark the bicentenary of Mozart's death in 1991.[17]

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Statue of Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster Wilton Crescent

51.5004°N 0.1538°W / 51.5004; -0.1538 (Statue of Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster)
1998Jonathan WylderN/A Statue N/A The developer of Belgravia is shown studying plans of the area, his foot resting on a milestone inscribed CHESTER/ 197/ MILES, a reference to his estate at Eaton Hall in Cheshire. On either side sit two talbots, the supporters from his coat of arms.[18] An inscription on the pedestal reads WHEN WE BUILD, LET US THINK WE BUILD FOR EVER‌a slight misquotation from John Ruskin's Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849).[19]
Armillary sphere Belgrave Square Gardens 2000?N/A Armillary sphere N/A A gift from the Duke of Westminster to mark the beginning of the third millennium. The inscription on the rim is taken from William Blake's "Auguries of Innocence" (1803): To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.[20]

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Statue of Henry the Navigator Belgrave Square

51.4992°N 0.1548°W / 51.4992; -0.1548 (Statue of Henry the Navigator)
2002after José Simões de Almeida (the younger)N/A Statue N/A Unveiled 12 February 2002 by Jorge Sampaio, the President of Portugal.[21] A cast of a statue in Vila Franca do Campo on São Miguel Island, erected in 1932 to commemorate the quincentenary of the arrival of the Portuguese to the Azores.[22] The Portuguese Embassy is at 11 Belgrave Square.[23]
Bust of George Basevi Belgrave Square Gardens

51.4989°N 0.1529°W / 51.4989; -0.1529 (Bust of George Basevi)
2002Jonathan WylderN/A Bust N/A Basevi was responsible for the design and construction of Belgrave Square in 1825–1840.[24][25]

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Image Title / subject Location and
coordinates
DateArtist / designerArchitect / other Type Designation Notes
The Jeeves Ladies Outside Jeeves shop, Pont Street 1974Kate McGillN/A Sculptural group N/A Based on the logo, depicting two gossiping Edwardian ladies out shopping, designed by Derrick Holmes for the dry cleaning firm Jeeves of Belgravia. Holmes also produced the maquette for the sculpture.[26]

References

  1. Belgravia Conservation Area General Information Leaflet (PDF), Westminster City Council, Department of Planning and City Development, May 2004, retrieved 25 January 2014
  2. Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 727
  3. Kershman 2013, p. 271
  4. Historic England. "Fountain on East Side of Junction with Avery Farm Row (1265617)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  5. Bradley & Pevsner 2003, p. 750
  6. "Marquess of Westminster Memorial Fountain", The Salviati Architectural Mosaic Database, 7 February 2015, retrieved 21 February 2015
  7. Duncan, Clive (23 May 2005), "Obituary: Geoffrey Wickham", The Independent, retrieved 30 March 2014
  8. Discover a History: Walking in Belgravia‍‌A guided walk through the heart of Belgravia (PDF), Grosvenor, p. 10, archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015 zero width joiner character in |title= at position 41 (help)
  9. Blackwood 1989, p. 238
  10. "Chesham Place", London Gardens Online, retrieved 23 January 2013
  11. The Chancery and the Ambassador's Residence, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, London, archived from the original on 6 October 2014, retrieved 21 February 2015
  12. Westminster City Council 2013, p. 79
  13. "Vitruvian man", London Remembers, retrieved 19 July 2012
  14. Asprey & Bullus 2009, p. 26
  15. Asprey & Bullus 2009, p. 91
  16. Westminster City Council 2013, pp. 77–78
  17. "Appeals: Mozart Bicentenary Statue Appeal", The Independent, 15 May 1993, retrieved 6 November 2011
  18. Matthews 2012, p. 143
  19. "Robert Grosvenor", Daily Photo Stream, 27 November 2012, retrieved 30 March 2014
  20. "Memorial: Start of the third Millennium in Belgrave Square", London Remembers, retrieved 7 February 2014
  21. Discurso do Presidente da República por ocasião da Inauguração da Estátua do Infante D. Henrique (Versão em Inglês), Presidência da República Portuguesa, retrieved 24 October 2012
  22. "Estátua do Infante de Sagres", Igogo (in Portuguese), retrieved 24 October 2012
  23. Embassy of Portugal in the United Kingdom, Governo de Portugal, archived from the original on 28 January 2013, retrieved 25 October 2012
  24. Westminster City Council 2013, pp. 78–79
  25. Kershman 2013, p. 283
  26. "Chelsea Old Town Hall to Knightsbridge". Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. p. 16. Retrieved 19 July 2012.

Bibliography

  • Asprey, Ronald; Bullus, Claire (2009), The Statues of London, London and New York: Merrell, ISBN 978-1858944722CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Blackwood, John (1989), London's Immortals: The Complete Outdoor Commemorative Statues, London and Oxford: Savoy Press, ISBN 978-0951429600CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Bradley, Simon; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2003), London 6: Westminster, The Buildings of England, London and New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-09595-1CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Kershman, Andrew (2013), London's Monuments, London: Metro Publications, ISBN 978-1-902910-43-7CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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