Erection date: 1925
2017: Having seen our page showing the empty plinth John Reed wrote with a possible identification for this sculpture. In March 2009 Chorley’s auctioneers in Gloucester sold (£400) a sculpture: “Lot 372: Philip Lindsey Clark, A small bronze of a kneeling child, Michael Clark (his son) holding a teddy bear, set on a rectangular marble column and a square base, initialled and dated PLC 1924, 22.5cm (8.75") high” The (poor) photo shows a naked, kneeling child with what is probably a cat climbing over its left shoulder, almost certainly not a teddy bear.
It seems highly likely that this is a version of the sculpture that used to stand on the Chelsea plinth: the subject matches the PMSA title “Child with Cat”, and the date is right. But we don’t think it can be the actual sculpture, mainly because at less than 9” it surely would be too small for the plinth. Take Hodge for example: PMSA says that sculpture is c. 20”.
But we are delighted to have this image showing what the sculpture probably looked like – thank you, John.
Site: Jacqueline Cockburn - missing sculpture (2 memorials)
SW3, Chelsea embankment gardens
This sad empty plinth was brought to our attention by Stephen Cleverley. We were delighted to be able, eventually, to read all of the inscription and to realise that we had already put Jacqueline Cockburn on London Remembers - a block of flats on the Tachbrook Estate was named for her.
