Equestrian Statue of King George I
The statue was bought by the first director of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Thomas Bodkin in 1937.
It was originally commissioned by the City of Dublin in 1717, and was unveiled in the City in 1722. It was sculpted by the Dutch sculpter John van Nost the Elder. During the early part of the 20th Century, when Ireland was on it's way to form a Republic, there was a risk that the statue could have been destroyed so Mr Bodkin bought it and relocated it in Birmingham.
The statue of George I outside of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham (December 2009). Photography by Elliott Brown
Equestrian Statue of George I - details
It was created by the Dutch sculptor John van Nost the Elder.
The statue was commissioned for the City of Dublin, Ireland in 1717. It was eventually unveiled in 1722. It was to display the loyalty of the people of Ireland, in the face of unrest from the Catholic Supporters of James Stuart 'The Old Pretender' (in the wake of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 - 1716). When Ireland was partitioned in 1921, to save it from the Republic of Ireland destroying it, it was bought and relocated to Birmingham. It remained there until Thomas Bodkin, the first director of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, bought it in 1937, and had it brought to it's current location.
The statue of George I outside of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham (December 2009). Photography by Elliott Brown
300th anniversary of the statue
The statue having been originally unveiled in the City of Dublin in the year 1722. This was 300 years ago. The statue as it is now in the year 2022. Could do with a clean.
The statue of George I outside of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham (August 2022). Photography by Elliott Brown