Statue

Oscar Wilde reclining

Oscar Wilde reclining Oscar Wilde reclining

Erection date: 30/11/1998

Inscription

{Inscribed on the vertical face at the 'foot' end:}
A conversation with Oscar Wilde, 1854 - 1900
. . .
{Inscribed on the upper surface at the 'foot' end:}
We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars.

Unveiled by Lucian Holland, Wilde's great grandson, who made the unveiling speech.  He was assisted by Stephen Fry who played Oscar in the 1997 film "Wilde". Jenkins did the inscription carving.

If Oscar has a cigarette in his hand when you see him you are in luck since it has been repeatedly stolen and replaced. In 2004 we heard that there were plans to protect the fag's fag with surveillance cameras. Hambling is particularly peeved since she is an avid smoker herself and sees this vandalism as possibly associated with the anti lobby. She visits Oscar occasionally and cleans out his head where people tend to deposit fag-ends, flowers and letters. She herself has furnished it with a starfish and a moon, in reference to the quote.

Site: Oscar Wilde reclining (1 memorial)

WC2, Adelaide Street

We think this location was chosen for its proximity to theatreland, where some of Wilde's plays were first performed, at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, the other side of Trafalgar Square.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Oscar Wilde reclining

Subjects commemorated i

Oscar Wilde

Born in Dublin as Oscar Fingal O'Flaherty Wills Wilde. 'Importance of Being E...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Oscar Wilde reclining

Created by i

Nearby Memorials

Sir John Cass statue - Jewry Street

Sir John Cass statue - Jewry Street

EC3, Jewry Street, 31

A statue was commissioned by the Sir John Cass Foundation in 1751. It was first erected on the original school building in a first floor ...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Queen Victoria as Peace

Queen Victoria as Peace

N20, Barnet Lane, Friary Park

An information panel was erected in front of the statue by the Mayor of Barnet on 18 June 2016. It tells the story of the Park and the st...

1 subject commemorated, 4 creators
George III with the River god

George III with the River god

WC2, Strand, Somerset House Courtyard

Bronze statue erected in 1789 showing the king who had commissioned the rebuilding of Somerset House. The statue is awash with nautical a...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Captain James Cook statue

Captain James Cook statue

SW1, The Mall

The original inscription stopped after "New Zealand." In 1928 the British Empire League, with the necessary approval, added the rest.

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Bradley Stone

Bradley Stone

E16, Caxton Street North, Peacock Gymnasium

Sculpted by Ann Downey.

1 subject commemorated