Self Sacrifice (statue)

Last updated

Self Sacrifice
The Lady Godiva Statue
Godiva statue Broadgate Oct 2011.jpg
Self Sacrifice in Broadgate, Coventry
Self Sacrifice (statue)
52°24′29″N1°30′37″W / 52.40801°N 1.51041°W / 52.40801; -1.51041
Location Coventry,
United Kingdom
Designer Sir William Reid Dick
Type Equestrian statue
Material Bronze and Portland stone
Beginning date1936
Completion date1949
Opening date1949
Dedicated toLady Godiva and the people of Coventry

Self Sacrifice, better known as the Lady Godiva statue is an equestrian statue of Lady Godiva in Broadgate, Coventry. The statue is bronze, on a plinth of Portland stone. [1]

Contents

History

The statue was initially commissioned in 1936 by William Bassett-Green, a wealthy local businessman but it was 1940 before a scale model had been produced by the sculptor, Sir William Reid Dick. [2] Reid Dick worked through the Second World War to produce a full scale model of the statue. After the war the statue was cast and placed on a plinth influenced by Sir Edwin Lutyens, before finally being unveiled by Peggy Z. Douglas on the 22nd of October 1949. [3] The statue was adorned with the flags of the United Kingdom and the United States as Mrs Douglas was the wife of the American Ambassador, Lewis Williams Douglas. The statue was initially installed facing south, but was rotated to face west in 1989 during the construction of the Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre. [1] A canopy was erected over the statue at the same time, which was removed in 2008. [2]

Design

The statue depicts Lady Godiva on her naked ride through the city to protest her husband’s oppressive taxes. The plinth is inscribed with passages from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem Godiva along with a dedication from William Bassett-Green to Lady Godiva and the people of Coventry. [4]

Inscriptions

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Woolner</span> English sculptor and poet (1825–1892)

Thomas Woolner was an English sculptor and poet who was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was the only sculptor among the original members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lady Godiva</span> 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and figure of legend

Lady Godiva, in Old English Godgifu, was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries.

<i>Palgraves Golden Treasury</i>

The Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics is a popular anthology of English poetry, originally selected for publication by Francis Turner Palgrave in 1861. It was considerably revised, with input from Tennyson, about three decades later. Palgrave excluded all poems by poets then still alive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Edgar Boehm</span> British sculptor (1834–1890)

Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, 1st Baronet, was an Austrian-born British medallist and sculptor, best known for the "Jubilee head" of Queen Victoria on coinage, and the statue of the Duke of Wellington at Hyde Park Corner. During his career Boehm maintained a large studio in London and produced a significant volume of public works and private commissions. A speciality of Boehm's was the portrait bust; there are many examples of these in the National Portrait Gallery. He was often commissioned by the Royal Family and members of the aristocracy to make sculptures for their parks and gardens. His works were many, and he exhibited 123 of them at the Royal Academy from 1862 to his death in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lady of Shalott</span> 1832 Victorian ballad by Alfred Tennyson

"The Lady of Shalott" is a lyrical ballad by the 19th-century English poet Alfred Tennyson and one of his best-known works. Inspired by the 13th-century Italian short prose text Donna di Scalotta, the poem tells the tragic story of Elaine of Astolat, a young noblewoman stranded in a tower up the river from Camelot. Tennyson wrote two versions of the poem, one published in 1832, of 20 stanzas, the other in 1842, of 19 stanzas, and returned to the story in "Lancelot and Elaine". The vivid medieval romanticism and enigmatic symbolism of "The Lady of Shalott" inspired many painters, especially the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers, as well as other authors and artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Reid Dick</span> Scottish sculptor (1878–1961)

Sir William Reid Dick, was a Scottish sculptor known for his innovative stylisation of form in his monument sculptures and simplicity in his portraits. He became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1921, and a Royal Academician in 1928. Dick served as president of the Royal Society of British Sculptors from 1933 to 1938. He was knighted by King George V in 1935. He was Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland to King George VI from 1938 to 1952 then held the post under Queen Elizabeth until his death in 1961.

Events from the year 1949 in art.

Philip Reed, known as Philip Reid before he was emancipated, was an African American master craftsman who worked at the foundries of self-taught sculptor Clark Mills. There, historical monuments such as the 1853 equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square, near the White House in Washington, D.C., the 1860 equestrian statue of George Washington in Washington Circle, and the 1863 Statue of Freedom in Washington, D.C., were created.

<i>The Lady of Shalott</i> (painting) Painting by John William Waterhouse

The Lady of Shalott is a painting of 1888 by the English painter John William Waterhouse. It is a representation of the ending of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 1832 poem of the same name. Waterhouse painted three versions of this character, in 1888, 1894 and 1915. It is one of his most famous works, which adopted much of the style of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, though Waterhouse was painting several decades after the Brotherhood split up during his early childhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Haig Memorial</span> Equestrian statue in London by Alfred Frank Hardiman

The Earl Haig Memorial is a bronze equestrian statue of the British Western Front commander Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig on Whitehall in Westminster, London. It was created by the sculptor Alfred Frank Hardiman and commissioned by Parliament in 1928. Eight years in the making, it aroused considerable controversy; the Field Marshal's riding position, his uniform, the horse's anatomy and its stance all drew harsh criticism. The inscription on the plinth reads 'Field Marshal Earl Haig Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France 1915–1918'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourth plinth</span> Empty plinth on Trafalgar Square, with a programme of temporary artworks

The fourth plinth is the northwest plinth in Trafalgar Square in central London. It was originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of William IV, but remained bare due to insufficient funds. For over 150 years the fate of the plinth was debated; in 1998, the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) commissioned three contemporary sculptures to be displayed temporarily on the plinth. Shortly afterwards, Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, commissioned Sir John Mortimer to seek opinions from public art commissioners, critics and members of the public as to the future of the plinth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of George V, Westminster</span> Sculpture by William Reid Dick

The statue of George V in Old Palace Yard, Westminster, London, is a sculpture of George V, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India. The statue was sculpted prior to the Second World War and was hidden in a quarry during the war years. Other locations were suggested for the statue, including Parliament Square, but it was unveiled opposite the House of Lords in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, City of London</span> Statue by Francis Leggatt Chantrey

The equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington is an outdoor sculpture of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, a British soldier and statesman, located at the Royal Exchange in London. It overlooks Bank junction in the historic City of London. The sculptor was Francis Leggatt Chantrey. The statue commemorates Wellington's assistance to the City of London in ensuring that a bill was passed to allow the rebuilding of London Bridge.

<i>Boadicea and Her Daughters</i> Sculptural group in Westminster, London

Boadicea and Her Daughters is a bronze sculptural group in London representing Boudica, queen of the Celtic Iceni tribe, who led an uprising in Roman Britain. It is located to the north side of the western end of Westminster Bridge, near Portcullis House and Westminster Pier, facing Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster across the road. It is considered the magnum opus of its sculptor, the English artist and engineer Thomas Thornycroft. Thornycroft worked on it from 1856 until shortly before his death in 1885, sometimes assisted by his son William Hamo Thornycroft, but it was not erected in its current position until 1902.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of George Stuart White</span>

The equestrian statue of George Stuart White is a Grade II listed outdoor bronze sculpture depicting Field Marshal Sir George Stuart White, an officer of the British Army, located in Portland Place, London, England. The sculptor was John Tweed and the statue was unveiled in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Victoria Memorial, Lancaster</span> Memorial in Lancaster, England

The Queen Victoria Memorial in Lancaster, Lancashire, England, is a Grade II* listed building. It stands in the centre of Dalton Square, Lancaster facing Lancaster Town Hall. It was erected in 1906, being commissioned and paid for by James Williamson, 1st Baron Ashton.

<i>Poems</i> (Tennyson, 1842) Anthology by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Poems, by Alfred Tennyson, was a two-volume 1842 collection in which new poems and reworked older ones were printed in separate volumes. It includes some of Tennyson's finest and best-loved poems, such as Mariana, The Lady of Shalott, The Palace of Art, The Lotos Eaters, Ulysses, Locksley Hall, The Two Voices, Sir Galahad, and Break, Break, Break. It helped to establish his reputation as one of the greatest poets of his time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of Edward Horner</span> Memorial to Edward Horner, who died of wounds in the First World War

The equestrian statue of Edward Horner stands inside St Andrew's Church in the village of Mells in Somerset, south-western England. It was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, as a memorial to Edward Horner, who died of wounds in the First World War. The sculpture was executed by Sir Alfred Munnings.

<i>Lady Godiva</i> (1911 film) 1911 film

Lady Godiva is a 1911 American silent historical drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced by Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, New York. Its scenario is based on a legendary incident in the life of Godiva, Countess of Mercia, who lived in England during the mid-11th century. Allegedly, the Anglo-Saxon noblewoman rode naked—covered only by her long hair—through the streets of Coventry to protest and abolish an oppressive tax imposed on that town's residents by her husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia. The film, copies of which survive today, stars Julia Swayne Gordon in the title role with a supporting cast including Robert Maillard, Harold Wilson, and Kate Price.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Edwards (sculptor)</span> British sculptor, 21st century

Andrew Edwards, known as Andy Edwards is a British sculptor.

References

  1. 1 2 Historic England. "LADY GODIVA STATUE, Non Civil Parish (1031589)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Self Sacrifice - The Coventry Society". www.coventrysociety.org.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  3. Sandford, Elis (22 October 2018). "Why Lady Godiva statue was unveiled wearing Stars and Stripes". CoventryLive. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. "Godiva - A poem by Alfred Tennyson". www.coventry.org.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2021.