Statue of Jan Smuts, Parliament Square explained

Statue of Jan Smuts
Italic Title:no
Artist:Jacob Epstein
Medium:Bronze sculpture
Subject:Jan Smuts
Metric Unit:cm
Imperial Unit:in
City:London, United Kingdom
Coordinates:51.5009°N -0.1269°W
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:13

A life-size bronze statue of Jan Smuts by the British artist Jacob Epstein stands on the north side of Parliament Square in London, United Kingdom, between a statue of Lord Palmerston and a statue of David Lloyd George.[1]

Description

The statue depicts him in his military uniform as a field marshal, leaning forward with his left leg advanced, as if walking forward. The statue stands on a pedestal of granite from South Africa, which bears the inscription JAN/ CHRISTIAN/ SMUTS/ 1870–1950.

History

After Winston Churchill won the general election in October 1951, he proposed erecting a statue in Parliament Square as a memorial to Smuts, who had died in September 1950. Churchill retired as prime minister in 1955, and was too ill to perform the unveiling in November 1956; it was unveiled instead by the Speaker of the House of Commons, William Morrison. The statue became a Grade II listed building in 1970.[2]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Statues. Greater London Authority. https://web.archive.org/web/20150316081558/https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/arts-culture/parliament-square/statues. 16 March 2015. 2015-03-16.
  2. Web site: STATUE OF FIELD MARSHAL JAN SMUTS, non Civil Parish - 1226373 | Historic England. 22 June 2018. 23 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180623061302/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1226373. live.