The Messenger (David Wynne sculpture) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Messenger |
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| Year | 1981 |
| Subject | statue |
| Location | Sutton, Greater London |
| 51°21′34″N 0°11′26″W / 51.35944°N 0.19056°W | |
The Messenger is a famous statue located in Sutton, a town in Greater London, England. It was created by a well-known English sculptor named David Wynne. This impressive artwork was put in place in 1981. It shows a horse and a young person riding it.
What Does The Statue Look Like?
The statue is made from a metal called bronze. It has a very dark, smooth surface. This dark color is called a `patina`, which forms naturally on bronze over time. The artwork shows a horse and a young boy riding without a saddle.
The horse has one front leg slightly lifted, as if it's about to move. It looks towards the nearby train station. The boy riding the horse is raising his left hand high in the air. His right hand is near his mouth, as if he is calling out loudly. The statue is life-size, meaning it's as big as a real horse and rider. It stands on a tall base, about 7 feet high, made of marble and granite stones. The total height of the statue and its base is about 150 inches.
Where Can You Find The Statue?
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You can find The Messenger right outside the main entrance of a building called Quadrant House. This spot is very close to Sutton railway station.
The sculptor, David Wynne, originally thought about putting the statue high up above the building's entrance. However, he decided against it. He felt that if the statue was too high, people wouldn't feel connected to it. It might look flat, like a picture, instead of a 3D sculpture you can walk around.
So, the statue was placed at ground level. This allows people to get very close to it and see all its details. David Wynne wrote about how he felt just before the statue was shown to the public in his 1982 book, The Messenger:
It is a proud moment for the sculptor when he sees a crowd of expectant and rather puzzled people gazing at an ungainly shrouded shape in the most prominent position outside a gleaming new building. Will they be surprised, pleased, disappointed or even appalled when the cover comes off? Too late to change it now!
