Sculptor confirms: “Gresley statue gathers steam!”

Hazel Reeves SWA FRSA is putting the finishing touches to her sculpture of Sir Nigel Gresley.

Acknowledging the controversy around the decision by the Gresley Society Trust to withdraw the mallard duck from her original design for this commission, Ms Reeves said:

“I can confirm Sir Nigel’s statue has now been sculpted in clay and cast in bronze and there is definitely no mallard with him at the foundry.”

After almost a year’s work to complete her 7ft 4in statue of the eminent steam locomotive engineer, Ms Reeves is weeks away from the planned unveiling at King’s Cross station.

All that remains is for final adjustments to be made to the metalwork and for the bronze to be coloured by Ms Reeves, who is an award-winning figurative sculptor from Brighton.

Ms Reeves said:

“Sir Nigel Gresley designed steam engines that pushed boundaries of both speed and elegance of design; I hope that my statue of this great engineer helps ensure his achievements are re-discovered and celebrated for generations to come.”

The statue of Sir Nigel Gresley will be unveiled on the 75th anniversary of his death on Tuesday April 5 at 11am on the Western Concourse at King’s Cross station.

ENDS

Hazel Reeves and Gresley Statue
Sculptor Hazel Reeves in her studio, with the clay Sir Nigel Gresley (photograph by Andy Fallon)
Hazel Reeves sculpting Sir Nigel Gresley in her studio (photo by Roger Bamber)
Hazel Reeves sculpting Sir Nigel Gresley in clay (photograph by Roger Bamber)

Information for editors

Hazel Reeves SWA FRSA is an award-winning figurative sculptor, passionate about people and their stories, with figure and portrait commissions in bronze a speciality, such as this monumental Sir Nigel Gresley statue for King’s Cross station.

Hazel is on the Council of the Society of Women Artists (SWA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). For further details see www.hazelreeves.com/biography

In 2014 the Gresley Society Trust commissioned Hazel to sculpt a maquette (or scale model) of Sir Nigel Gresley, with a mallard duck at his side.

In March 2015, she was commissioned to sculpt the final 7ft 4in statue of Sir Nigel Gresley, without the mallard.

The clay of the statue has been completed, the mould made and the statue cast in bronze at Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry in the Docklands, London.

Sir Nigel Gresley (1876-1941) was responsible for the record-breaking steam engines Flying Scotsman and Mallard:

‘[Sir Nigel] was one of the leading British locomotive designers of the age of steam.  A mechanical engineer of great skill, he also had the imagination and boldness to innovate, a flair to organise and to lead, an artist’s eye for line and proportion, and a touch of showmanship’, Gresley Society Trust website.

The Flying Scotsman has been in the news in the past weeks as it is back ‘in steam’ and ran the East Coast mainline, from King’s Cross to York, after ten years of restoration costing over £4 million.

 

Contacts for Hazel Reeves:

Email: hazel [at] hazelreeves.com

Telephone: 01273 692459, 07817 685638

Studio: Sussex Sculpture Studios, Epstein House, 1 Daux Road, Billingshurst, RH14 9TF

Website: www.hazelreeves.com

Twitter: @Hazel Reeves

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Hazel-Reeves-Sculptor-107735559277896/