Statues - Hither & Thither

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London
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Victoria Embankment Gardens (WC2)
(Main Garden)

Robert Burns

Alloway, Ayrshire 1759 - Dumfries 1796
Scottish poet and lyricist
(Wikipedia)

John Steell
1884

Description

Bronze statue of Robert Burns, attired in the rustic dress of the peasant of Scotland at the time, seated on the broken stump of a tree, in 'the act of composing. Near the foot of the figure is a scroll with the text "O Sweet to stray, and pensive ponder, A heart-felt sang" (from Burns' poem To William Simpson Of Ochiltree, 1785), and beside it a broken ploughshare.

Ed Maggs wrote us: "In respect of the Robert Burns statue in Temple Gardens, you might be amused to know of this poem written on its unveiling, by the English poet John Gray, showing that it was pretty much as daft then as it is now. I particularly like the notion 'He does not sing. He only wonders why he is sitting there'."

Inscription(s)

ROBERT BURNS
1759 — 1796

"The Poetic Genius of my Country found me at the
Plough – and threw her inspiring mantle over me. She
bade me sing the loves, the joys, the rural scenes and
rural pleasures of my native soil, in my native tongue;
I tuned my wild, artless notes as she inspired."

Information Sign

On the rock is written: the gift of john gordon crawford 1884.

London - Robert BNurns

Sculptor

Sir John Robert Steell (Aberdeen 1804 - 1891), Scottish sculptor (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Wikipedia, List of public art in the City of Westminster.
Bob Speel, London sculpture.
George L. Gomme, Return of outdoor memorials in London (London: City Council, 1910) (through Internet Archive).
John Blackwood, London's Immortals: The Complete Outdoor Commemorative Statues (London: Savoy, 1989), p. 128-129.
Andrew Kershman, London's Monuments (London: Metro Publ., 2013), p. 132.
Peter Matthews, London's Statues and Monuments (Botley: Shire, 2012), p. 52-53.

Locatie (N 51°30'30" - W 0°7'18") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: gblo100; Photograph: 5 August 2014 / updated: 27 February 2021
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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