Woman and Fish - Millwall Park, Isle of Dogs, London, UK
N 51° 29.309 W 000° 00.609
30U E 707564 N 5708387
This larger than life statue is located in Millwall Park towards the southern end of the Isle of Dogs in east London. It is a replica of a sculpture that was vandalised and subsequently scrapped.
Waymark Code: WMG9VN
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/03/2013
Views: 4
There is a plaque within the fence surrounding the statue
that reads:
This replica of Frank Dobson's
'Woman and Fish' circa 1951, replaces the
sculpture sited on the Cleveland Estate in Stepney.
The original was purchased for the borough
by the London County Council in 1963,
the year of Frank Dobson's death.
The reinstatement of this important piece of
artistic heritage has been funded by
Chatham Properties, and facilitated by
London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
It was created by artist Antonio Lopez Reche
and cast at the Bronze Age foundry in Limehouse.
The Antonio Lopez Reche website [visit
link] tells us about the sculpture from his perspective:
"The sculpture "Woman and Fish" by Frank Dobson, placed
originally in Cephas Street, junction with Cambridge Heath Road by the London
County Council in 1963, provided drinking water until vandals smashed it in
1977. Later, 1979 it was beheaded and removed for restoration in 1983 to be
returned in 1985. Finally it was totally destroyed in 2002 and it's remains went
to the skip. In December 2006 I was approached with the reproduction project by
Tower Hamlets Art Department.
With the information supplied and after learning about
Frank Dobson's body of work and style, and thanks to being able to study the
artist modelling technique and textures on the piece "London Pride" in the South
Bank area, cast in bronze in 1951 for the "Festival of Britain", I was able to
reproduce "Woman and Fish" to the satisfaction of Tower Hamlets Art Department
and the "Frank Dobson Estate".
The above reproduction of "Woman and Fish" (see
website)was the result of work in my studio and the piece used for the
production of a silicon rubber mould by Bronze Age art foundry in order to
enable the casting of the piece in bronze. This original plaster can be viewed
at the Brady Arts Centre in Tower Hamlets.
Once it was cast in bronze and patinated by Bronze Age
the piece was installed in Millwall Park in Tower Hamlets, just beside Island
Gardens DLR Station were, hopefully, it will have a much more peaceful life than
the original by Frank Dobson did."