Richmond was home to writer Viriginia Woolf for more than 10 years and fundraising continues to raise £50,000 to install a life-size bronze statue of her on Richmond Riverside
Despite the war years and her struggles with mental health, Virginia Woolf felt loved her home in Richmond when she settled here between 1914 and 1924, living with her husband Leonard on Paradise Road and starting the renowned Hogarth Press. A novelist, critic, feminist, gay icon and diarist, the member of the Bloomsbury Group has had great influence on so many sectors of society.
A Gala celebration in December, boosted funds, with writers such as Anne Sebba, Frances Spalding and Sarah Gristwood; comedienne Clare Summerskill and artists Louisa Albani and Marta Di Franscesco contributing a mix of live interviews, readings, songs and comedies. Writer Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time says he has a ‘passionate attachment to her work’ which has stood the test of time as a contemporary modernist writer: ‘It is only right that an author who is so privately loved should be publicly celebrated.’
So far, more than £23,000 of the £50,000 needed to create the bronze statue has been raised. Permission has already been granted by Richmond Council to erect the statue, by award-winning sculptor, Laury Dizengremel. It would be the first statue of a woman of achievement in the borough – long overdue. Out of around 828 statues in the UK, only 174 of them are female – around 20 per cent. And of those, only 80 are actually of named women (many of them of Queen Victoria), the rest being a nameless female figure.
Woolf’s proposed life-size statue will show her in her 20s and will be seated on a bench by the Thames, so that visitors can sit beside her and contemplate life as they gaze on the river.
If you’d like to donate to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/VirginiaWoolfStatue
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