Maggi Hambling defends nude Mary Wollstonecraft statue: ‘There are plenty of schlongs honouring men’
Artist caused controversy when naked sculpture of feminist icon was unveiled last month
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Maggi Hambling, the artist behind the controversial Mary Wollstonecraft statue, has defended her work.
Last month, the artist made headlines after her nude sculpture of the feminist icon Wollstonecraft was unveiled in London.
“Nameless, nude, and conventionally attractive is the only way women have ever been acceptable in public sculpture. This was a chance to break from those conventions, no?” tweeted one critic.
In an interview with The Guardian, Hambling defended her decision to depict the “mother of feminism” as a naked woman, saying: “Oh, but there are plenty of schlongs honouring men in art.”
She added: “The figure had to be nude because clothes define people. Put someone in country tweeds and they become horsey. Put someone in period dress and they become part of history. I didn’t want to do that to her.”
On whether she would have done the statue differently had she known the uproar it would cause, Hambling said: “No. I couldn’t. I’m not in control of what I do. The subject speaks through me when I work.”
Wollstonecraft was an early pioneer of human rights. Her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, published in 1792, called for gender equality a century ahead of the suffragettes.
Hambling was revealed as the chosen artist for the Wollstonecraft sculpture in 2018.
She is best known for her sculpture of Oscar Wilde in Covent Garden, which depicts the poet and playwright laughing and smoking. She also faced derision from critics when it was unveiled in 1998.
The Independent’s critic Tom Lubbock wrote at the time: “We have nothing of the nerve, the folly, the ruin, the glory. We have nothing for history – only the whimsical notion of us chatting cheerfully with this anodyne figment.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments