The plinth in the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square stood empty for over one hundred and fifty years. It was originally designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1841 to display an equestrian statue, but the project was never completed due to insufficient funds. Following a successful program led by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts (RSA), Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth no longer stands empty. In 1998, The RSA commissioned three sculptures to be temporarily displayed on the plinth, and due to enormous public interest in the project, The Mayor of London began the Fourth Plinth Programme. In 2010, The Fourth Plinth featured Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle (by Yinka Shonibare), and it currently displays a golden boy on his rocking horse called Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 (by Elmgreen & Dragset). In 2013, watch for the new installation of a giant ultramarine blue cockerel…
- Fourth Plinth Programme
- Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DS
- www.london.gov.uk/fourthplinth