The Barbican Muse

Sculpture at the Barbican Centre, London, England

51°31′11″N 0°05′35″W / 51.519606°N 0.092990°W / 51.519606; -0.092990OwnerDick 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]

References

  1. ^ Oxford, Esther (31 May 1994). "Facelift reveals heart of Barbican tourist trap". The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  2. ^ Owen, Richard (14 October 1998). "Chins off the old block". The Times.
  3. ^ Binney, Marcus (9 February 1993). "Architecture with art at its heart". The Times.
  4. ^ "Arts Briefing: Barbican Brighter". The Times. 26 August 1993.
  5. ^ Krouse, Matthew (19 December 2003). "Eighth wonder". Mail & Guardian. South Africa. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Stock Photo: An ex-Barbican muse on the move requires careful handling". Alamy. 1998. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.

External links

Media related to Barbican Muse at Wikimedia Commons

  • v
  • t
  • e
Portrait sculpture
British/English
royalty
Arts
Explorers
Merchants
Military
Nurses
Politics
British
Prime ministers
Other politicians
International
Religion
Science and
engineering
Social reformers
and humanitarians
Sport
Fictional
characters
See also
Other monuments and memorials
War memorials
Pre-C20
Boer Wars
WWI · WWII
Regimental
Local
Corporate
Holocaust
Post-WWII
Blue plaques
Other works
Sculptures
Fourth plinth, Trafalgar Square
Elisabeth Frink
Barbara Hepworth
Henry Moore
Eduardo Paolozzi
The Line
Fountains
Murals
Banksy
Land art
See also
By location
City of Westminster
Key: † No longer extant, on public display or in London (see List of public art formerly in London)


Stub icon

This London-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e
Stub icon

This article about a sculpture in the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e