2-982-364 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Statue of Queen Victoria in the New Townhall, Leeds, 1858. 'The statue of her Majesty by Mr. Noble...is a remarkably fine work of colossal proportions, executed in one of the most perfect large blocks of pure white marble that has for a very long time been brought to this country from the best quarries of Carrara. It presents an admirable likeness of our Sovereign Lady the Queen, in an attitude at once calm and majestic, while in the expression of the countenance there is a joyous vivacity blended with high dignity, as if delivering an address which communicated glad tidings to millions of her subjects. This statue, which is eight feet six inches high, was produced, we understand, in a wonderfully short space of time...[and has] a classical aspect. The outer garment is enriched with an elaborate border, on which the rose, thistle, and shamrock are accompanied by the lily. The pedestal which supports the statue is of a beautiful warm-tinted granite, about ten feet high, surrounded at the lower part by a large wreath of oak, the symbol of strength; and at the upper part by a large wreath of olive, the symbol of peace'. From "Illustrated London News", 1858.