Public art in Norwich
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The artwork known as Homage to Sir Thomas Browne has been moved from Hay Hill and will be re-installed in Eaton Park in Summer 2024
There are two pieces of public art relating to Sir Thomas Browne in Norwich, both of them situated on Hay Hill in the centre of Norwich.
A statue of the man, by Henry Alfred Pegram which was commissioned by the city to commemorate the tercentenary of Browne's birth in 1905 and Homage to Thomas Browne, commissioned in 2005 (installed 2007) by Norwich City Council as part of the market refurbishment and to celebrate 400 years since his birth. Click on the links above to read more about each piece. |
Sir Thomas Browne by Henry Pegram 1905
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The story goes that this water feature was filled in after art students added purple dye and detergent to the water and caused a huge frothy mess of bubbles!
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Homage to Thomas Browne
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Artist Patrick Poirier examines 'the brain'
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Artist Patrick Poirier
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A part of the commission for the Homage to Sir Thomas Browne, there were a series of temporary commissions
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Other works commemorating Browne
In 1932 the English painter Paul Nash chose to illustrate Sir Thomas Browne's Urn Burial and The Garden of Cyrus, providing the publisher with a set of 32 illustrations to accompany Browne's Discourses. A pencil drawing by Nash called "Urne Buriall: Teeth, Bones and Hair" is held by Birmingham Museums Trust. The National Portrait Gallery in London has a fine contemporary portrait by Joan Carlile of Sir Thomas Browne and his wife Dorothy, Lady Browne (née Mileham). In 2005 Robert Mileham's small standing figure in silver and bronze was commissioned for the 400th anniversary of Browne's birth. |
In 2018, the theme for annual contemporary art exhibition Cley 18 was 'The greater the distance, the clearer the view' a quote from Thomas Browne via Max Sebald. Here is a selection of specifically Browne-related works
Rhona Fleming Test Piece for Religio Medici, a portrait for Thomas Browne
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Allen, Jules and Williams, Phyllis - Museum Clausum
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