Shakespeare Memorial

Shakespeare Memorial, Shakespeare Place, Sydney, Australia

Public Art: Shakespeare Memorial

Sculptor: © Sir Edgar Bertram MacKennal

Description: The bronze and marble memorial not only features Shakespeare but five of his most famous characters - Hamlet, Romeo, Juliet, Portia and Falstaff.

Date Unveiled: 1926

Location: Shakespeare Place, between the Mitchell Library and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Commissioned by: The family of Henry Gullett ( MLC, editor and a former president of the Shakespeare Society of New South Wales) who died in 1914.

History of the Shakespeare Memorial : The statue, created by Australian Sculptor, Sir Bertram MacKennal, was originally destined for India. However, when the Shakespeare Company caught a glimpse of the artist's work, they simply had to have a copy.

Interesting Facts: The memorial had to be repositioned to make way for the Cahill Expressway.

Controversy : Okay what is public art without a little bit of controversy. On researching the memorial I came across this little gem, on the reasons why the memorial was a must have ....as quoted by the President of the Shakespeare Society "We need one for this reason: Shakespeare is not only the typical man of letters but also even more the typical Englishman. In that serene and somewhat enigmatic personage we see shining humour, tolerance, wide understanding of human nature, soundness of mind and body and equal development of all his faculties that belong to the English race in all its exemplars.” (to be or not to be English?).

Shakespeare Memorial, Shakespeare Place, Sydney, Australia