Other

Muses - Thalia

Erection date: 1933

Lady Lesley Jowitt as Thalia the muse of comedy and bucolic poetry.

Site: National Gallery - Anrep mosaics - Muses (11 memorials)

WC2, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery - Staircase Hall - Half-way Landing

Introduction to the Anrep Mosaics
Four floors in the Staircase Hall (1887) of the original National Gallery building are inlaid with delightful and puzzling mosaics by Boris Anrep. Laid in 1928-33 and 1954, these mosaics show gods and muses, and various human activities, many in the guise of real people of the day: contemporaries of Anrep, involved in public, intellectual and cultural life, all known to Anrep personally, such as those also associated with the Bloomsbury Group.

Entering via the original building’s portico entrance you first come across the ‘Awakening of the Muses’ on the halfway landing. From there you can take flights of stairs to either: the west vestibule and see the ‘Labours of Life’; the east vestibule and see the ‘Pleasures of Life’; the north vestibule and see the ‘Modern Virtues’. Richard Evans has a photo showing this original layout of the space.

The west and east vestibule floors were opened on 31 May 1928 and 13 November 1929 respectively and both were the gift of Samuel Courtauld and other benefactors.

When we visited (April 2024) the only access to the east and west vestibules was via the north vestibule and even then part of the floors were obscured with screens. The mosaics in the east and west vestibules are no less interesting than the others but fortunately for us, do not, as far as we know, contain any portraits, so our research and photos are confined to the 'Muses' on the halfway landing (this photo) and the 'Modern Virtues' in the north vestibule, on another page

We must apologise for the quality of our images. The spaces are lit from above, making it difficult to keep glare and shadows out of photos.

When you visit ask at the entrance desk and they may have in stock their leaflet: "An Introduction to Boris Anrep's Mosaics at the National Gallery". This provides a key to all 4 mosaic floors and is similar to these web pages.

Awakening of the Muses
This 'Awakening of the Muses' floor was  gifted (which we take to mean funded) by Samuel Courtauld and other benefactors, and opened in 1933. 

It depicts two male gods: Apollo, playing a pipe, and Bacchus, surrounded by the 9 muses being awakened. Plants and many creatures are depicted; we spotted: a rabbit, a squirrel, a snail, a spider in its web, frogs, birds of various sorts, butterflies, etc. 

To avoid database clutter we have put the Creator links on just one page - Apollo.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Muses - Thalia

Subjects commemorated i

Lady Lesley Jowitt

Patron of the arts and Communist Party member. Born as Lesley Stewart McIntyr...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Muses - Thalia

Also at this site i

Muses - Apollo

Muses - Apollo

Osbert Sitwell as Apollo, god of music, dance and lots more, plays a pipe to ...

Read More

Muses - Bacchus

Muses - Bacchus

Clive Bell as Bacchus, god of wine, parties, the theatre and general fun/mayh...

Read More

Muses - Calliope

Muses - Calliope

The NG leaflet, referring to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, has "Unknown ...

Read More

Muses - Clio

Muses - Clio

Virginia Woolf as Clio the muse of history, holding a quill pen.

Read More

Muses - Erato

Muses - Erato

Mary Hutchinson as Erato the muse of lyric poetry. Note the owl behind her.

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Robert Seymour

Robert Seymour

WC1, Doughty Street, Dickens Museum

A nearby information board informs: Probably the most prolific illustrator and cartoonist of his era, Seymour was the first artist ever ...

1 subject commemorated
Natasha Baker gold post box

Natasha Baker gold post box

UB8, High Street, Uxbridge

The Braille is a nice touch (ha, ha) but the plaque, on the back of the box, looks pretty cheap, and cheaply fixed - we won't be surprise...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Kirsty MacColl

Kirsty MacColl

W1, Soho Square, southern section of the garden

MacColl's 1993 "Titanic Days" album contains the track "Soho Square", set in the winter. Wikipedia says: "Every year on the Sunday neares...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Unidentied object

Unidentied object

W6, Upper Mall Open Space

We don't really think this is a memorial, but would like to know what it is. From London Gardens Online: "Upper Mall Open Space is a riv...

1 subject commemorated
Blitz bomb in Harrington Square

Blitz bomb in Harrington Square

NW1, Harrington Square Gardens

This bouquet of dried flowers was tied to a tree in the garden not too far away. The writing was illegible or uninformative so we have n...

Civilian war dead | WW2
8 subjects commemorated, 1 creator