| Statue of Jan Smuts | |
|---|---|
.jpg/1280px-Jan_Christian_Smuts_(9177337292).jpg) The statue in 2013 | |
 | |
| Artist | Jacob Epstein |
| Medium | Bronze sculpture |
| Subject | Jan Smuts |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′03″N 0°07′37″W / 51.50087°N 0.12690°W / 51.50087; -0.12690 |
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.[2]
The statue had a mixed reception, with Robert Brand calling it "simply ghastly" after attending the unveiling. Bullus and Asprey in The Statues of London likened Smuts' pose to ice skating.[2]
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.[3]
Nelson Mandela secretly visited London in the 1960s, and on seeing the statue joked with Oliver Tambo that perhaps there would be statues of them replacing it one day.[2] Though the statue of Smuts remains, a statue of Nelson Mandela was unveiled in Parliament Square in 2007.
See also
References
- ^ "Statues". Greater London Authority. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ a b c Bullus, Claire; Asprey, Ronald; Gilbert, Dennis (2009). The Statues of London. London: Merrell. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-85894-472-2.
- ^ "STATUE OF FIELD MARSHAL JAN SMUTS, non Civil Parish - 1226373 | Historic England". Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
External links
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- Jan Christian Smuts – Parliament Square, London, UK at Waymarking
- Statue of Field Marshal Jan Smuts, National Heritage List for England Historic England
- Smuts statue, londonremembers.com
- Parliament Square Garden, london.gov.uk
- The Statues of Parliament Square, Bowl Of Chalk – London Walking Tours, 12 November 2013
- Parliament Square statues, Bob Speel
- Smuts Statue Unveiled 1956, Pathé
