Karen Newman (artist)

Karen Newman
Born	(1951-01-20) 20 January 1951 (age 75) London, England
Occupation	Sculptor
Period	from 1965 onwards
Genre	Figurative sculpture
Subject	Portrait sculpture
Website
karen-newman.com

Karen Newman MRBS (born 20 January 1951) is a British-born sculptor, best known for her bronze bust of Violette Szabo on the Albert Embankment of the River Thames, outside Lambeth Palace in London. ^[1]

Career

Bust of Noor Inayat Khan by Newman, Gordon Square

Newman was trained at the Chelsea School of Art for a Pre-Diploma 1969–1970, then on to the City and Guilds Art School in Kennington, London 1970–1972. From 1980 to 2001 Newman worked at Madame Tussauds in London. Among her subjects were:

• The Duke of Edinburgh
• Charlie Chaplin
• The late ex-Prime Minister Harold Wilson
• Sarah, Duchess of York
• Stevie Wonder
• Eric Clapton
• Bob Geldof
• Prime Minister Tony Blair
• The late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin
• Jeroen Krabbé. Dutch film actor, painter.
• Chancellor Helmut Kohl
• Jean-Paul Gaultier
• Yoko Ono
• Charles Dance
• Hugh Grant
• Billy Connolly

Newman's life-size waxwork of Charlie Chaplin was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

In 2008, a bronze bust of Violette Szabo was unveiled at the Albert Embankment of the River Thames, in front of Lambeth Palace. ^[2] In January 2026 it was announced that Newman would be designing a statue for the Memorial to Elizabeth II in London. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. "Royal British Society of Sculptors". Archived from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
2. "Secret agents' memorial unveiled". BBC. 4 October 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
3. Coughlan, Sean (23 January 2026). "Queen Elizabeth II statue will be standing and not on horseback". BBC News. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
4. "Renowned sculptor Karen Newman joins the national Queen Elizabeth II Memorial project". GOV.UK. 23 January 2026. Retrieved 27 January 2026.

External links

Artworks by or after Karen Newman at the Art UK site