14 pieces of must see art from across our Liverpool campus.
Go on a trail across University of Liverpool’s campus to discover a wide range of sculpture from the University’s art and heritage collection. Download our 'Sculpture Trail' app on your Apple or Android devices.
From the abstract to the more tradition, the University of Liverpool's campus is home to an amzing collection of art. Find out more about some of our favourite pieces.
Back to: Victoria Gallery & Museum
The three forms can be seen as three talking figures. The artist considered two forms would have been too few and four too many. Dalwood won a competition to design this piece, which is cast in aluminium. He was one of the leading British artists of his time and at taught at several institutions including the Royal College of Art. This piece was installed in 1959, the year Dalwood won the John Moores prize with Large Object.
The sculptor can be seen outside the Central Teaching Laboratories.
Campus map reference F5
Bushe was Lecturer in Sculpture at Liverpool College of Education during the 1960s, although he spent most of his life in Scotland. His art was on a monumental scale and produced in reaction to its environment. This frieze was commissioned for the Science Faculty and represents the disintegration of matter. The panels at either end are almost whole but they become more fragmented towards the centre, where the doorway is.
The frieze is located on the wall of the Central Teaching Labs
Campus map reference: F6
The gate and screen are both inspired by mathematics and the design incorporates mathematical symbols in an abstract way. McCarthy also designed a five-panel terracotta mural for the Mathematics and Oceanography building based on the growth of mathematical ideas in science and technology.
The artwork can be located by the Mathematical Sciences Building
Campus map reference: E6
Hepworth was one of the few female artists of her generation to achieve international recognition. Although Modernist in her use of abstract forms, she was influenced by the monolithic power of ancient standing stones. Here, Hepworth uses circles cut out of the bronze structure to explore the relationship between occupied and empty space.
Sean Rice was a unique and innovative Liverpool-based sculptor who taught at the Liverpool School of Art. His work can be seen around the city with many pieces in Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Rice often used religious themes for his figurative studies and Shemaiah, seen here, is a prophet from the Old Testament.
On loan from the estate of the artist
The names of famous engineers are displayed in pre-cast concrete on a curved wall for added impact. Maxwell Fry is regarded as the father of the Modern movement in architecture in Britain and he believed that buildings should be carefully matched to their environment. Born in Wallasey, Fry studied at the University’s School of Architecture.
Elisabeth Frink worked in an Expressionist style and was one of the most celebrated figurative sculptors of the late 20th Century. She described this bronze sculpture as a tribute to human rights and said that the figure is a man running away from persecution.
Donated by Eric & Jean Cass through the Contemporary Art Society, 2010.
Forsyth was commissioned by the University to create a sculpture complementing the space adjacent to the Biosciences facilities. This nuclear-grade stainless steel structure has echoes of the surrounding buildings, while the form resembles strands of a replicating chromosome and can also be perceived as a striding figure.
This stone honours Captain Noel Chavasse (1884 – 1917). Son of the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, he worked as a doctor at the city’s Royal Southern Hospital. After enlisting Chavasse was surgeon to the Liverpool Scottish battalion. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravely tending to wounded soldiers during the Battle of the Somme. Then awarded a Bar (equivalent of a second VC) posthumously for treating the wounded under fire during the Battle of Passchendaele. He died of injuries sustained at the time.
Rhind was a Scottish-based sculptor who rarely worked beyond the border but he twice made an exception for Liverpool. His sculpture on the façade of the Liverpool Cottage Exchange no longer exists, so these are the only remaining examples. They are typical of his elegant Neoclassical style and are allegorical figures representing the arts.
King is an abstract sculptor who studied under Anthony Caro and was an assistant to Henry Moore. Red Between was created while the artist was re-thinking his way of working. Originally, the forms were low on the ground. King had a two year pause and when he returned to the sculpture he decided to raise the forms off the ground. He felt the space around it added dynamism.
Acquired with the support of the Arts Council, 1977
The figure holds a key and a lantern and she stands before a large open book; all symbols of learning. Kennington enlisted as a soldier in the First World War and he became an official war artist during that conflict and the next. During peacetime Kennington undertook commissions for war memorials or figures for public buildings such as this.
This bronze statue is dedicated to war hero Captain Noel Chavasse, who died in 1917 and was the only man to be awarded the equivalent of two Victoria Crosses during World War One. More about his links to Liverpool are given below. The memorial also names fifteen further Victoria Cross recipients who were born in Liverpool.
Cunliffe was an American sculptor but she moved to Didsbury in Manchester in 1949 following her marriage. She is best known for designing the ‘mask’ award given to BAFTA winners. The Quickening is carved from a single piece of Spanish marble and represents a dove resting in the palm of a hand. It is typical of Cunliffe’s use of shapes and themes from nature.
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