The Scottish Society for Art History in partnership with the Public Statues and Sculpture Association is hosting a webinar on the theme of public sculpture in Britain from 1945 to 1980.

Following the trauma of the Second World War, the post-war period was a time of change, innovation and creativity that saw the emergence of new movements, art forms and new ideas about the role of the artist in society. The establishment of the Arts Council of Great Britain saw public funding for art on a greater scale than ever before. New Towns were built to replace bomb-damaged housing and tackle housing problems. Public artworks were commissioned for new public buildings and civic spaces as symbols of culture-led regeneration. Exhibitions and installations, including Enterprise Scotland (1947) and the Festival of Britain (1951), played an important role in bringing sculpture to a wider audience and creating spaces for experience and exchange.

Public Sculpture in Britain 1945-1980, Saturday 21 May 2022

Webinar Programme

11.00-11.05 Welcome and housekeeping by Claire Robinson, Chair, Scottish Society for Art History

11.05-11.25 Keynote presentation: Andrew Demetrius, University of St Andrews

Walls and Bridges, Concrete and Collaboration: aspects of public sculpture in Scotland’s New Towns

11.25-11.35 Discussion

11.35-11.50 Break

Session 1 Chair: Joanna Barnes, Co-Chair, Public Statues and Sculpture Association

11.50-12.00 Dr Sarah Crellin

‘Performing sculpture’s proper function’? Trafalgar Square and Battersea Park 1948

12.00-12.10 Katharine Eustace FSA

Both early and late: Hew Lorimer's Nisi Dominus Frustra, Westfield Court, Gorgie, an example of architectural sculpture in post-war public housing

12.10-12.20 Dominique Fleischmann

Arthur Fleischmann (1896 - 1990): A career described through the prism of World Festivals and illustrated with images

12.20-12.35 Panel discussion

12.35-13.00 Break

Session 2 Chair: Holly Trusted, Co-Chair, Public Statues and Sculpture Association

13.00-13.10 Matthew Jarron, University of Dundee

Labor Vincit – The Work and Influence of Scott Sutherland RSA

13.10-13.20 Nicholas Smith

The Florence of Essex - Harlow Revisited

13.20-13.30 Professor Pauline Rose

An ambiguous memorial: Henry Moore’s Nuclear Energy (1966-67)

13.30-13.40 Rebecca Farley, Newcastle University

Swapping the forest for the streets: the emergence of an ‘Urban Grizedale’

13.40-13.55 Panel discussion

14.00 End

Image credit: David Harding, Industry, 1970. Photograph: Peter Goldsmith

The Webinar will take place via Zoom. A Zoom joining link will be sent out to all attendees 24 hours before the event. If you have any queries, please contact ssahchair@gmail.com