“The Victoria Memorial” by Sir Thomas Brock

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The Victoria Memorial

Sir Thomas Brock, K.C.B., R.A. 1847-1922

1911

Marble (Pentelic marble for the central structure and Carrera marble for the four central figures), Gilded Bronze, Bronze, and Granite

Between the Mall and Buckingham Palace, London

The Queen, whose statue faces the Mall, is surrounded by Truth, Justice, and Motherhood. The monument is surmounted by a gilded figure of Victory accompanied by Constancy and Courage. The central portion of the monument is surrounded by fountains with bronze figures representing the arts and other subjects.

Photograph by George P. Landow December 1999. We are grateful to Phillip Cheek for information about the materials used in the sculptures.

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]

Commentary by Malcolm C. Salaman (1911)

From the Mall side, and from the Palace side, broad flights of granite steps lead up to a circular podium, or raised platform, of the finest Aberdeen granite, 104 feet in diameter, in the centre of which stands the great marble pedestal which sustains the chief sculptural features of the monument. Water is an important element in this basic part of the scheme, for, as suggesting Britain's sea-power, from bronze sculptured fountains, set in marble retaining-walls, which curve gracefully round the podium, on either side, between the approaches, cascades fall continuously into great marble basins. On the walls themselves, some 210 feet of marble, sea-waves, in which Tritons and Nereids, with dolphins and seahorses, disport with joyous rhythmic motion, are carved in relief, with careful and vivacious modelling and decorative effect. [30,35]

Bibliography

Beattie, Susan. The New Sculpture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.

Read, Benedict. Victorian Sculpture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.

Salaman, Malcolm C. “Sir Thomas Brock's Queen Victoria Memorial.” The Studio 44 (July 1911): 29-40. Internet Archive digitized from a copy in the University of Toronto Library. [Complete text on the Victorian Web]

Created 26 May 2015

Last modified 5 November 2026