''The Neighbours'' is a sculpture by
Siegfried Charoux
Siegfried Joseph Charoux (15 November 1896 – 26 April 1967) was an artist, primarily a figurative sculptor working in bronze, stone, or terracotta. Born in Austria, he moved to England in 1935, where he became naturalised in 1946.
Early and ...
. It was commissioned in 1957 using funds set aside by
London County Council
London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
for
public art
Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...
in its housing projects and unveiled in 1959 at the
Quadrant Estate in
Islington, N5, London, near
Clissold Park. It became 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 April 1998.
The sculpture stands approximately high, on a low brick plinth. It depicts two life-size human figures, possibly intended to represent working men, sitting alongside each other on a bench. It was made using synthetic resin mixed with powdered stones, supported by a steel armature and fibreglass matting, creating an appearance similar to terracotta or cemented iron. It was renovated in 2009, in time for the 50th anniversary of its unveiling.
A bronze maquette was sold for £2,250 by
Christie's in 2011.
References
The Neighbours sculpture at Highbury Quadrant Estate National Heritage List for England Historic England
The Neighbours Robert Harris Conservation
The Neighbours maquette Christie's, 23 March 2011
Islington Tribune, 4 September 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neighbors, The
Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Islington
Outdoor sculptures in London