A bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi by

Fredda Brilliant Fredda Brilliant (7 April 1903 – 25 May 1999) was a Polish sculptor and actress, born in Łódź, Poland. She worked in a variety of media and is recognized as an accomplished sculptor, writer, actor, singer and script writer. Throughout her ...

was unveiled in 1968 at the centre of

Tavistock Square Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. History Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Francis Russell, 5th Duke ...

in London, to mark the impending centenary of Gandhi's birth in 1869.

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

had studied law at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

nearby from 1888 to 1891, before being called to the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

Description

The statue portrays Gandhi in his later years, sitting in a contemplative pose, with legs crossed in the

lotus position Lotus position or Padmasana ( sa, पद्मासन, translit=padmāsana) is a cross-legged sitting meditation pose from ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha ...

and his left hand resting on his ankles, and his bare head with furrowed brows slightly lowered. He is wearing his characteristic

dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the I ...

loincloth, with a shawl over the right shoulder. The statue is mounted on a rounded

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

plinth, which stands on a square platform with four steps. The plinth bears the inscription "Mahatma Gandhi, 1869–1948". A large alcove hollowed out at the front of the plinth can house tributes, such as flowers or candles. A small plaque was added in 1996, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Gandhi's birth two years earlier. The Gandhi memorial was erected by the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Committee, with the support and guidance of the

India League The India League was an England-based organisation that campaigned for the full independence and self-governance of India. The League was established in 1928 by Krishna Menon and has been described as "the principal organisation promoting Indian na ...

. It was unveiled by the British Prime Minister

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

on 17 May 1968, in the presence of the first High Commissioner of India to the UK after independence,

V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawa ...

, and the then-current

High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom The High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom is the head of the High Commission of India to the United Kingdom. The High Commission is located at India House, London, India House in London. History In 1919, a committee chaired by the M ...

, Shanti Swaroop Dhavan. It became a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1974. Nearby in Tavistock Square is the

Conscientious Objectors Commemorative Stone The Conscientious Objectors' Commemorative Stone is on the north side of Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. In 1994 a stone commemorating "men and women conscientious objectors all over the world and in every age" ...

installed in 1994, a cherry tree planted in 1967 in memory of the victims of the

bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

, and a bust of Dame

Louisa Aldrich-Blake Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake (15 August 1865 – 28 December 1925) was a pioneering surgeon and one of the first British women to enter the world of modern medicine. Born in Chingford, Essex, she was the eldest daughter of a curate. ...

erected in 1926.

Maquettes

A large bronze maquette of the statue was shown on the BBC television programme ''

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people (g ...

'' in April 2013, valued by

Philip Mould Philip Jonathan Clifford Mould (born March 1960) is an English art dealer, London gallery owner, art historian, writer and broadcaster. He has made a number of major art discoveries, including works of Thomas Gainsborough, Anthony Van Dyck and ...

at £20,000. The heirs of Fredda Brilliant auctioned this high maquette, signed and dated 1964, at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury as part of a sale of works from the artist's studio. Given an auctioneer's estimate of £800 to £1,200, the maquette was sold on 5 June 2019 for £52,000. The sale also included a high plaster version, sold for £13,000, and a high resin version in a lot of two sculptures of Gandhi for £5,000. A high bronze version of the statue had been sold at auction in London in 2014 for £580.

References

Statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Tavistock Square Gardens
Historic England
Statue of Mahatma Gandhi
Images of England, Historic England Archive

''The Independent'', 22 June 1999
Gandhi statue, Bloomsbury
London Remembers
Peace garden at Tavistock Square
atlasobscura.com
Tavistock Square
Bedford Estates
Tavistock Square Gardens
London Parks and Gardens Trust
Golden Jubilee of Mahatma Gandhi statue at Tavistock Square
''Asian Voice'', 22 May 2018
The Cambridge Companion to Gandhi
edited by Judith Brown, Anthony Parel, pp. 213–214
Brilliant response to studio sale
Antiques Trade Gazette, 15 June 2019
Gandhi bronze valued on Antiques Roadshow by Philip Mould to be sold at auction next month
Antiques Trade Gazette, 2019
Maquette for bronze sculpture of Gandhi
''Antiques Roadshow''
"The Studio of Fredda Brilliant
Woolley & Wallis, 16 May 2019
Sale of bronze maquette
Woolley & Wallis, 5 June 2019
Sale of plaster model
Woolley & Wallis, 5 June 2019
Sale of resin model
Woolley & Wallis, 5 June 2019, Woolley & Wallis, 5 June 2019
Sale of small bronze
Roseberys, 18 March 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Mahatma, statue, Tavistock Square 1968 sculptures London, Tavistock Square Bronze sculptures in England Outdoor sculptures in London Sculptures of men in the United Kingdom Monuments and memorials in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Grade II listed statues in London

Description

Maquettes

See also

References