Statue of Industry was a 1929 sculpture by the English artist Herbert Maryon. The 23-foot-tall work depicted a woman with a model of Tyne-built in one hand, a model of a turbo alternator in the other, and three children at her feet. It a prominent attraction at the North East Coast Exhibition, a world's fair-type event intended to showcase the manufacturing-centric capabilities of a region which was in the midst of a post-war recession. It remained at the Exhibition from May 1929 opening to October 1929 closing; it was then sold to the engineering firm A. Reyrolle & Company in Hebburn, where it remained until at least 1931.
Background
North East Coast Exhibition
The North East Coast Exhibition was an event held in Newcastle from May to October 1929. The brainchild of the Newcastle and Gateshead Chamber of Commerce, the Exhibition was intended to spur economic development in the region; a post-war recession had led to an unemployment rate of 61% in 1926, including 50,000 skilled engineers and shipbuilders. Initially, it was planned as a showcase for the region's (mostly manufacturing) products, although the scope broadened to also include a large entertainment component.
The Exhibition was situated in a corner of the Town Moor, a mile from the railway station and 300 yards from Armstrong College, then part of Durham University. It featured a massive Palace of Engineering and Palace of Industries. The Palace of Engineering included models illustrating the region's expertise in fields such as railways, shipbuilding, bridge building, and mining; the Palace of Industries focused on consumer products, with exhibitions from brands such as Pyrex, Hoover (displaying its vacuums), and Singer. Other structures included the Palace of Arts, with more than 300 artworks on loan, a Festival Hall, a sports stadium, and many smaller pavilions and kiosks.
Herbert Maryon
When he began work on Statue of Industry, Herbert Maryon was 54 years old, and a year into his position as master of sculpture at Armstrong College Maryon had studied at The Slade, Saint Martin's School of Art, and the Central School of Arts and Crafts. He then served as the first director of the Keswick School of Industrial Art from 1900 to 1904, where he designed numerous Arts and Crafts works, taught metalwork at the Storey Institute, and then from 1907 to 1927 at the University of Reading as a teacher of metalwork, modelling, and casting. While at Reading Maryon had designed several large works, including First World War monuments for East Knoyle, Mortimer, and the University of Reading. He remained at Armstrong until 1939; after the Second World War, Maryon went on a second career as a conservator at the British Museum, where his work on the Sutton Hoo ship-burial led to his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
Design
Statue of Industry depicted a woman standing on a pedestal. The statue was 23 feet tall, the woman accounting for 15. One of her hands held a model of , which had been built in Tyne; the other held a model of a turbo alternator. Children surrounded her feet, representing the large population of Tyneside
The three-tonne statue was made of fibrous plaster surrounding a frame of steel. The dimensions of Maryon's studio entrance necessitated the statue's composition; it was made in sections, none more than feet long, and shaped with tools including axes and chisels. The plaster was mixed in basins, then applied to the sections. When done, it was painted cream and gold. As a plaster work intended for the outdoors, it was designed to last for only a year.
History
Creation
Maryon began by creating a small sketch model of the statue. He began the full work in September 1928, with assistance from his students.
The statue was installed near the entrance of the Exhibition on 22 April 1929. It was installed in sections; there to witness it, a reporter for the South Wales Daily Post wrote of seeing a "decapitated three-ton lady" suspended in midair, with "her head and shoulders" resting on the ground. Plaster was applied in situ, taking a fortnight to set; afterwards, the paint was applied.