A new statue of Margaret Thatcher has been completed; it is due to be erected in Parliament Square. Alistair Lexden does not think much of it, as he made clear in a letter published in the London Evening Standard on 16 May.
The proposed new statue of Margaret Thatcher for Parliament Square gives her the face of a sour 19th-century provincial businessman down on his luck, kitted out in mayoral robes (News, 12 May).
The sculptor should have a look at the superb bust of her by Oscar Nemon in the Carlton Club. It captures brilliantly her strong, determined features and penetrating eyes. Harold Macmillan unveiled the bust in 1979. In a mischievous stage whisper he said, “I must remember that I am unveiling a bust of Margaret Thatcher, not Margaret Thatcher’s bust”.
Alistair Lexden