The Barbican Muse | |
---|---|
Artist | Matthew Spender |
Year | 1994 |
Type | Sculpture |
Medium | Gilded fibreglass |
Subject | Woman with tragedy and comedy masks |
Dimensions | 6.1 m(20 ft) |
Condition | Good |
Location | London, EC2 United Kingdom |
51°31′11″N0°05′35″W / 51.51962°N 0.09297°W | |
Owner | Dick Enthoven |
The Barbican Muse is a sculpture of a woman, holding tragedy and comedy masks, by Matthew Spender, and was installed on a wall near the Silk Street entrance to the Barbican Centre in the City of London, England, in 1994. [1]
The 20 feet (6.1 m) long illuminated sculpture called Muse was cast in fibreglass and then gilded. [2] [3] It was commissioned, in 1993, by architect Theo Crosby to 'float, glow and point the way' to visitors arriving at the centre on the walkway from Moorgate Station. [4]
As part of the 1993–1994 refurbishment, Crosby also commissioned nine gilded fibreglass muses by British sculptor Sir Bernard Sindall, but these were removed in April 1997, and sold to Dick Enthoven in 1998. [5] [6]
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The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, maisonettes, and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and densely populated by financial institutions, 1.4 miles (2.2 km) north east of Charing Cross. Originally built as rental housing for middle and upper-middle-class professionals, it remains an upmarket residential estate. It contains, or is adjacent to, the Barbican Arts Centre, the Museum of London, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Barbican public library, the City of London School for Girls and a YMCA, forming the Barbican Complex.
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Media related to Barbican Muse at Wikimedia Commons