Architectural Sculpture in Britain 1850-1914

CALL FOR PAPERS: A new aesthetic or ‘mere decoration’?  Architectural Sculpture in Britain 1850-1914

We are inviting proposals for papers discussing architectural sculpture in Britain from 1850 to 1914. These will be presented to a joint Victorian Society and Public Statues and Sculpture Association conference at the Art Workers Guild in London on Saturday 17 September 2022. The conference will be followed by guided walks around selected Victorian and Edwardian buildings in London on Sunday 18 September.

Abstracts and a brief c.v. of approximately 150 words each should be submitted to Joanna Barnes and Holly Trusted (co-chairs PSSA) at office@pssauk.org by 30 April 2022.

Themes to be explored could include:

  • Patronage and commissions;
  • the relation between British and Continental European architectural sculpture;
  • the introduction and impact of new materials such as terracotta;
  • collaborative projects between architects, sculptors and firms such as Farmer and Brindley;
  • individual programmes of architecture and sculpture such as Llandaff Cathedral;
  • the visual relationships between figurative sculptures and their architectural frameworks;
  • the effects of collaborative work on the autonomy of sculptors;
  • the representation and objectification of women in sculpture;
  • the representation and misrepresentation of Empire in sculpture; 
  • women sculptors in a man’s world;
  • choice of materials and evidence of decay; or
  • Victorian and Edwardian sculpture and the effect of climate change.