Lancelot
"Capability" Brown Sculpture
A new tribute project by sculptor Laury Dizengremel
With the assistance of architect, garden designer and writer
Mr. Richard Jackson
of the Hammersmith Society, London
Above: Cast in lost-wax bronze, shown first in its permanent location
on Distillery Wharf along the Thames Walk in Hammersmith and before
that shown during an exhibition at
Doddington Hall, the first-ever lifesize full figure of Lancelot
'Capability Brown
Please view below the funding appeal video for a historic sculpture of
Brown which was
completed in clay in January 2016 for an unveiling in Spring
2017
- the year following the 300th
anniversary of his birth - also shown above in bronze.
A description of
part of our fundraising efforts is available on this crowdfunding
page which has now expired but
still lists the details of mementos
on offer.
Background
info:
As artist-in-residence
at Belvoir Castle (East Midlands, England) I was privileged
to
see a plan by 'Capability' Brown for Belvoir (which had been lost)
recovered
by the Duchess of Rutland and brought back to life in 2014-2015...
To celebrate the Tercentenary of his birth in 2016
I decided to look for funding and create a fitting memorial statue to
the 18th
century landscape architect and gardening genius that was Brown. This
fitted in with the whole concept of the Brown Festival which
was
endowed with a grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund to build
knowledge about Brown and his legacy. I was put in touch with Richard
Jackson who had launched a project two years ago to put up a statue of
Brown in the West of London where Brown lived for 13 productive years
after his period at Stowe.
Raising the funds for this sculpture was key.
Your donation were therefore vital.
The other parallel strand of this project was research:
I consulted the eminent landscape historian and leading expert
on
Brown,
John Phibbs, as well as the
archivist at Belvoir Castlle, Peter Foden, besides spending
hours
reading about Brown on the internet. Richard
Jackson, the landscape and garden designer gave me invaluable help
and advice.
UPDATE: 13/01/2016
This was the lifesize
sculpture in clay of Lancelot "Capability" Brown a few days before I
completed it on 6 January 2016. At that time we
required further funds to cast this in lost-wax
bronze,
then
deliver and install it a public artwork for London. The likeness is
based on a painting by Cosway. The 'Brown Advisor' - historian John
Phibbs had this to say about this sculpture: "I think it's very good -
fantastic in fact. I hope you can raise the necessary to have it cast
and set up. It's a terrific lot of hard work on your part." And Ms.
Gilly Drummond the Chairwoman of the Brown Tercentenary
Festival commented:
"It is so beautifully done and I am so thrilled
that
you, Laury, chose to use the Cosway
portrait and to
sculpt a working landscape gardener! It is
brilliant."
Below...
a digital
sketch I made in the Autumn of 2015 based on a painting
of Lancelot "Capability" Brown by Cosway - not a sculpture, not a
relief... just part of my research process at the time to visualise in
monochrome
and sketch fashion what the man looked like.
Brown
deserved a
lasting tribute.
There is now a statue of Brown permanently located near
Hammersmith Mall in London (on Distillery Wharf, Thames Walk). This
locaton is very relevant
because Brown spent 13 years in Hammersmith following his
period at Stowe.
Failing that, the statue could find a home elsewhere in London or on
public land within a town close
to one of the
great estates he landscaped: Blenheim Palace, Stowe, Petworth, Burghley
House or even near the newly established parklands at Belvoir Castle,
subject of the recent "Alan Titchmarsh on Capability Brown" series
shown on Channel 4.
All donors were thanked.
Donors in the
£25 category are
thanked here:
Nikolai Bird
Jacky Loveless
Ian Krieger
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