Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
Four Figure Groups
Region ID | GW | |
Work ID | 56 | |
Manual Reference | AN/016/1 | |
Title | Four Figure Groups | |
Sculptor | Mossman, John G | |
Sculptor | Mossman. Jnr., William | |
Architect | Campbell Douglas & Sellars | |
Architect | Sellars, James | |
Architect | Cunningham, John | |
Assistant | Ferguson, Daniel MacGregor | |
Builder | Watson, John | |
Date of design | 1873-77 | |
Year of unveiling | ||
Unveiling details | ||
Road | Granville Street | |
Precise Location | Mitchell Theatre, On west façade across second storey | |
A to Z Ref | 35 K15 | |
OS Ref | ||
Postcode | G3 | |
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | I | |
Duty of Care | Glasgow City Council | |
Commissioned by | Syndicate of promoters | |
Notes | ||
Four figurative groups comprising three figures, on piers across west façade, representing (from north to south): Literature: Shakespeare, Homer, Dante Renaissance art: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael Classical art: Sculpture (Phidias), Pallas Athena holding a Nike, Architecture (Ictinus) Music: Apollo flanked by two muses (one with a tambourine, the other with a guitar-like instrument) | ||
Built as St. Andrew's Halls by a syndicate of promoters as a concert hall, the plans were originally drawn up by John Cunningham, of Liverpool, in association with Campbell Douglas (of Glasgow). On Cunningham's death in 1872 the sketches were developed by James Sellars under Campbell Douglas' guidance. Sellars' design included an unexecuted relief frieze across the west front at attic level illustrating the arts and industry, plaster copies of the Parthenon reliefs which were placed on the walls of the entrance hall, and wooden caryatid figures on the organ case in the auditorium. The building was inaugurated by H.R.H. The Princess Louise on 13th November 1877. The building was later transferred to the ownership of the Glasgow Public Halls Company. It was purchased by Glasgow Corporation in 1890 and refurbished by the City Engineer between 1901- 05, when the sculpture groups were cleaned and the organ-case figures were removed. The building was gutted by fire in 1962 leaving only the outer walls standing and melting the ornamental cast-iron lamp standards on the façade. The building was restored and reopened as the Mitchell Theatre and Library Extension in 1982 | ||
circa | ||
raw year | ||
Condition | Fair | |
At risk | Not at risk | |
Inscriptions | ||
Signatures | ||
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
Sculpture | Blond sandstone | |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
Biological growth | Green biological growth on all groups |
Other | Black staining on all groups |
Previous treatments | Sculpture cleaned in 1901 |
Structural Condition
Structural Condition | Comment |
|---|---|
Broken, missing parts | Spear missing from Pallas Athena's left arm; and left hand missing from Nike |
Armatures exposed | Spear's fastener at Pallas Athena's left shoulder exposed |
Vandalism
Vandalism | Comment |
|---|---|
None | |