Today on the show, Lucy Branch interviews Dr. Susan Owens, author, independent scholar and former curator of paintings at the V&A about her recent article in Country Life magazine titled "Time Stands Still" which takes readers on a tour of Britain through 50 monuments. They discuss the significance of some of the UK's public monuments, their cultural impact, and highlight several remarkable examples.
Key Discussion Points
Dr. Owens' background at the V&A Museum and her transition from 2D to 3D artworks
The challenge of selecting just 50 monuments from Britain's rich landscape of commemorative works
How monuments function as "the collective memory of our country"
The cultural significance of controversial monuments like the Edward Colston statue and Mark Quinn's guerrilla installation of Jen Reid
The lack of proper curation for public monuments and spaces
The ongoing debate about memorializing tragedies like Grenfell
Monuments Highlighted
Penelope Boothby memorial (1791) - A moving marble sculpture by Thomas Banks of a five-year-old girl in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, commissioned by her grieving father
Boudicca monument at Westminster Bridge - Thomas Thornicroft's bronze masterpiece depicting the Celtic queen in triumph, drawing parallels to Queen Victoria
Sir Walter Scott Monument in Edinburgh - A Gothic structure housing not just Scott's statue but figures from his novels, illustrating his influence on historical fiction
Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park - Charles Sargeant Jagger's WWI memorial featuring realistic depictions of soldiers and their equipment, including the controversial fallen soldier figure
About Dr Susan Owens
Author of "Imagining England's Past: Inspiration, Imagination, Obsession" (Thames Hudson, 2023)
Recently published "The Story of Drawing: An Alternative History of Art" (Yale University Press, October 2024)
Instagram: @Susan_x_Owens
Insights
The emotional power of monuments to move us across centuries
Britain's tradition of commemorating beloved animals alongside historical figures
How monuments can become meeting places with personal significance
The human cost of creating monuments, such as the silicosis that killed many workers on the Scott Monument
Please support the show by buying one of my non-fiction books,
Bronze Behaving Badly: Principles of Bronze Conservation
or
Wax On Wax Off: How To Care For Bronze Sculpture
This podcast is created by Antique Bronze