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| Postwar public art treasures in need of protection | Postwar public art treasures in need of protection |
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| A hulking, imperious Guy the gorilla in south London’s Crystal Palace park; a stoic Winston Churchill watching traffic in Woodford Green, north London; a heroic embodiment of British miners originally installed on a roundabout in St Helens, Merseyside – just some examples of Britain’s treasured postwar public sculptures. | A hulking, imperious Guy the gorilla in south London’s Crystal Palace park; a stoic Winston Churchill watching traffic in Woodford Green, north London; a heroic embodiment of British miners originally installed on a roundabout in St Helens, Merseyside – just some examples of Britain’s treasured postwar public sculptures. |
| Others reside on housing estates, shopping centres and university campuses. All aim to bring some life and some sparkle to the often dreary ordinariness of what surrounds them. | Others reside on housing estates, shopping centres and university campuses. All aim to bring some life and some sparkle to the often dreary ordinariness of what surrounds them. |
| Now, on the advice of Historic England, 41 of these artworks are being given the extra protection of a Grade II or Grade II*-listed status. | Now, on the advice of Historic England, 41 of these artworks are being given the extra protection of a Grade II or Grade II*-listed status. |
| Roger Bowdler, director of listing at Historic England – the body that took over the listing, heritage protection and grant-making powers of the old English Heritage last year – said they were all works of art that deserved protection. “These sculptures were commissioned and created for everybody and have become a precious national collection of art which we can all share,” he said. “They enrich our lives, bring art to everyone and deserve celebration.” | Roger Bowdler, director of listing at Historic England – the body that took over the listing, heritage protection and grant-making powers of the old English Heritage last year – said they were all works of art that deserved protection. “These sculptures were commissioned and created for everybody and have become a precious national collection of art which we can all share,” he said. “They enrich our lives, bring art to everyone and deserve celebration.” |
| The sculptures were meant to bring public spaces back to life after the second world war as authorities began to repair and rebuild shattered towns and cities. | The sculptures were meant to bring public spaces back to life after the second world war as authorities began to repair and rebuild shattered towns and cities. |
| Sarah Gaventa, who is curating an exhibition of lost public art to tie in with the new listings, said there was a growing appreciation of post-war architecture but “the brave new art for that brave new world has not been under the same sort of spotlight … and it is vulnerable. | Sarah Gaventa, who is curating an exhibition of lost public art to tie in with the new listings, said there was a growing appreciation of post-war architecture but “the brave new art for that brave new world has not been under the same sort of spotlight … and it is vulnerable. |
| “It was democratic art and the artists who made it wanted their work to mean something to the public.” | “It was democratic art and the artists who made it wanted their work to mean something to the public.” |
| Many of the artists creating the art were migrants who had a missionary zeal. For example Franta Belsky, who fled to England from communist Czechoslavakia, created a bronze sculpture of a mother teaching her baby son to walk, installed on the Avebury housing estate, Bethnal Green, in the late 1950s. | Many of the artists creating the art were migrants who had a missionary zeal. For example Franta Belsky, who fled to England from communist Czechoslavakia, created a bronze sculpture of a mother teaching her baby son to walk, installed on the Avebury housing estate, Bethnal Green, in the late 1950s. |
| Belsky was passionate about about public art. “You have to humanise the environment,” he said. “A housing estate does not only need newspaper kiosks and bus-stop shelters but something that gives it spirit.” | Belsky was passionate about about public art. “You have to humanise the environment,” he said. “A housing estate does not only need newspaper kiosks and bus-stop shelters but something that gives it spirit.” |
| Gaventa accepted there was a lot of post-war art commissioning, mainly by Labour councils. Was there perhaps too much? Did every new school in Hertfordshire and Leicestershire really need a piece of art? | Gaventa accepted there was a lot of post-war art commissioning, mainly by Labour councils. Was there perhaps too much? Did every new school in Hertfordshire and Leicestershire really need a piece of art? |
| “That is a bit like saying you can have too much laughter, you can have too much nature,” she said. “Art is about quality of life and you can’t say one piece of art on a housing estate is too much … it is probably not enough.” | “That is a bit like saying you can have too much laughter, you can have too much nature,” she said. “Art is about quality of life and you can’t say one piece of art on a housing estate is too much … it is probably not enough.” |
| The majority of the listed sculptures are in London, installed as emblems of renewal and optimism after the heavy bombing it suffered in the war. They include well-known works by Barbara Hepworth such as her Winged Figure on the John Lewis store in Oxford Street and Single Form (Memorial) on the banks of Battersea Park boating lake – the artist’s personal response to the death of her friend, UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld, killed in a plane crash on his way to a peace mission in the newly independent Congo. | The majority of the listed sculptures are in London, installed as emblems of renewal and optimism after the heavy bombing it suffered in the war. They include well-known works by Barbara Hepworth such as her Winged Figure on the John Lewis store in Oxford Street and Single Form (Memorial) on the banks of Battersea Park boating lake – the artist’s personal response to the death of her friend, UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld, killed in a plane crash on his way to a peace mission in the newly independent Congo. |
| More recent works include one of Antony Gormley’s first public sculptures, a listening man on a boulder which was commissioned by Camden council in the early 1980s as an expression of its commitment to peace. | More recent works include one of Antony Gormley’s first public sculptures, a listening man on a boulder which was commissioned by Camden council in the early 1980s as an expression of its commitment to peace. |
| Outside London, the listed sculptures include Arthur Fleischmann’s 1964 The Miner, a large bronze bust of a miner on top of a mining cutting drum. Originally commissioned for outside the National Coal Board’s north-west headquarters in St Helens, it now stands close to the nearby Ravenhead Colliery, which closed when the reserves ran out. | Outside London, the listed sculptures include Arthur Fleischmann’s 1964 The Miner, a large bronze bust of a miner on top of a mining cutting drum. Originally commissioned for outside the National Coal Board’s north-west headquarters in St Helens, it now stands close to the nearby Ravenhead Colliery, which closed when the reserves ran out. |
| That is a good example of recycling which Gaventa said there should be more of. A lot of lost work will have been melted down but there is plenty in storage which could be given a new home, she said. | That is a good example of recycling which Gaventa said there should be more of. A lot of lost work will have been melted down but there is plenty in storage which could be given a new home, she said. |
| The exhibition will have a list of works which have been lost, stolen or destroyed. The number stands at about 40 but Gaventa said: “I’ve added two today and will probably add two tomorrow and we will ask people to add more.” | The exhibition will have a list of works which have been lost, stolen or destroyed. The number stands at about 40 but Gaventa said: “I’ve added two today and will probably add two tomorrow and we will ask people to add more.” |
| The new listings will provide important extra protection although Gaventa said vigilance was still needed, mentioning the case of a 2.5 metre bronze mermaid with fish feet called Miranda, created by Fleischmann for the 1951 Festival of Britain. It found a home in Leamington Spa and was listed, but was stolen in 2001. | The new listings will provide important extra protection although Gaventa said vigilance was still needed, mentioning the case of a 2.5 metre bronze mermaid with fish feet called Miranda, created by Fleischmann for the 1951 Festival of Britain. It found a home in Leamington Spa and was listed, but was stolen in 2001. |
| There is little hope for Miranda, but Gaventa is getting intelligence about lost public art mentioned in the exhibition including a tip that one of the two-metre-high fibreglass bulls which “disappeared” from Birmingham’s Bull Ring shopping centre may still exist. | There is little hope for Miranda, but Gaventa is getting intelligence about lost public art mentioned in the exhibition including a tip that one of the two-metre-high fibreglass bulls which “disappeared” from Birmingham’s Bull Ring shopping centre may still exist. |
| “I feel a bit like Howard Carter when he found Tutankhamun … but hopefully without the curse and the untimely deaths.” | “I feel a bit like Howard Carter when he found Tutankhamun … but hopefully without the curse and the untimely deaths.” |
| • Out There: Our Post-War Public Art is at Somerset House in London, 3 February-10 April. | • Out There: Our Post-War Public Art is at Somerset House in London, 3 February-10 April. |