Harlow Sculpture Town is a title used since 2009 to refer to the collection of over 90 public sculptures sited throughout the town of

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

in the English county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. This collection includes work by major international sculptors such as

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

Elisabeth Frink Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...

and

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

, amongst others. The collection has its foundation in the early days of the town itself, which is a former Mark 1

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

built as part of a nationwide programme of post-war reconstruction. Harlow’s master planner

Sir Frederick Gibberd Sir Frederick Ernest Gibberd (7 January 1908 – 9 January 1984) was an English architect, town planner and landscape designer. He is particularly known for his work in Harlow, Essex, and for the BISF house, a design for a prefabricated counc ...

was uncompromising in his vision that the town should be home not only to high quality housing, public amenities and expansive green spaces, but also to the finest works of art. He established Harlow Art Trust in 1953 with a mission to beautify Harlow by commissioning, siting and maintaining public art, and it has been in operation ever since. The decision to refer to the sculpture collection as ''Harlow New Town'' was first proposed in 2008 by

Michael Paraskos Michael Paraskos, FHEA, FRSA (born 1969) is a novelist, lecturer and writer on art. He has written several non-fiction and fiction books and essays, and articles on art, literature, culture and politics for various publications, including ''Art ...

on behalf of the Harlow Arts Trust, which owns most of the public sculpture on show in Harlow. On the 26 March 2009 Harlow Council voted to approve a proposal made by the Trust to redesignate Harlow as 'Harlow Sculpture Town' and initially the new title was used on council and other tourist publications, and on local road signs.Harlow Herald (newspaper), 31 March 2009 The sculpture collection has grown to be part of the town’s social fabric and are now repositories of the personal histories and collective memory of successive generations. They remain a focal point of cultural activity for schools, community groups, and visitors. Harlow Art Trust works with developers to commission new work and also runs an annual Sculpture Town Artist in Residence programme, giving an early career artist the opportunity to contribute their work to this collection of national significance.

References

{{reflist British sculpture Harlow Culture in Essex