It was an unseasonably sunny winter day in February, so I took on a self-guided walking tour of public art around London courtesy my new book, “Walks of Art”, compiled by Frances Barry and illustrated by Simon Harmer. “Walks of Art” includes 10 hour-long (or so) tours of permanently installed artworks situated east to west from Liverpool Street to Knightsbridge, and north to south from Kings Cross to Pimlico. On-going.

Art is everywhere, if you know where to look

What’s a girl to do with some free time and a sunny day in London? After dropping into Tate Modern for a quick look around, a little green book in their riverside shop caught my eye, “Walks of Art” which lists 10 self-guided walking tours of public art around central London. Put together by Frances Barry and illustrated by Simon Harmer, a sturdy card accordion-style book opens in one long guide, each 2-page spread showing a simple colour-coded line-drawn map with around 10-12 “stops”. Tate Modern is the last stop of the “Ochre” tour, so I headed off to the starting point around Monument to walk my way back, aiming to take the “Tate to Tate” river bus from Bankside to Millbank pier in time to check the scene at Tate Britain.

City of London dragons, Underground station at Monument. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
City of London dragons, Underground station at Monument. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Before I’d even gotten started, though, there was a quick detour to meet the mister for a cuppa coffee, and I found Antony Gormley’s rusty sentinel on the corner of Shoe Lane, a dashing monument to Prince Albert, Christopher Wren’s church of St Andrew at Holborn, and a secret courtyard at Waterhouse Square.

Antony Gormley, ‘Resolution’, 2007, bronze?, corner of Shoe Lane and St Bride street, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Prince Albert monument by Charles Bacon (1874) at Holborn Circus. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Church of St Andrew at Holborn, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
The inner courtyard at 138-142 Holborn St, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Coffee at the ready, the first step of the tour begins with Simon Patterson’s “Time and Tide” beneath my feet…

Simon Patterson, ‘Time and Tide’, 2004, inlaid stone text on pavement, LED plasma screens, Plantation Lane, EC3, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Simon Patterson, ‘Time and Tide’ (detail), 2004, inlaid stone text on pavement, LED plasma screens, Plantation Lane, EC3, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

and really takes off with Christopher Le Brun’s “City Wing”, tucked in between two buildings on Old Broad Street.

Christopher le Brun, 'City Wing', 2009, painted bronze, 125 Old Broad Street, EC2, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Christopher le Brun, ‘City Wing’, 2009, painted bronze, 125 Old Broad Street, EC2, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

From start to finish, I’d say it took more more than the suggested hour to complete the tour, but then again, I wasn’t in a hurry, taking pictures, of course, and stopping to notice other things not even on my list. Let’s say it takes two hours at more of an amble than a determined walking pace, along with any pauses needed to help a pair of out-of-towners find their way to St Paul’s from around Bank.

Charles Wheeler, ‘The Lady of the Bank’ (top), 1929-30, ‘Telamones and Caryatids’, 1929-30 (middle), Portland Stone, at Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, EC2. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Charles Wheeler, ‘Ariel’, 1935-7, gilt bronze (dome), at Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, EC2. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
William Reid Dick, ‘Sir John Soane’, 1930-7, Portland stone, at Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, EC2. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Charles Wheeler, bronze doors, 1928-37, at Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, EC2. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Thanks to artist Gavin Turk, the shopping centre at One New Change seems fixed to the ground by a single nail, two storeys high.

Gavin Turk, ‘Nail’, 2011, bronze (St Paul’s Cathedral in the background), One New Change, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Gavin Turk, ‘Nail’, 2011, bronze, One New Change, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Atop of One New Change, it almost feels like summer; the public roof terrace displays a quartet of Portland stone tributes to St George by Charles Wheeler, a mosaic by Boris Antrep, a fab view of St Paul’s cathedral, and if you like, taken with a drink in your hand.

Charles Wheeler, ‘Guardian Lions’, ‘St George Triumphant’ and ‘St George Combatant’, 1957, Portland stone, roof terrace at One New Change, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Boris Anrep, ‘Ariel’, 1957, floor mosaic, roof terrace at One New Change, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Maybe it’s not quite summer enough for that Pimm’s and lemonade, so with the remaining daylight, I headed back down to ground level and east to Paternoster Square. I found Elisabeth Frink’s shepherd and his wooly trio easily enough…

Elisabeth Frink, 'Paternoster', 1975, bronze, Paternoster Square, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Elisabeth Frink, ‘Paternoster’, 1975, bronze, Paternoster Square, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

…but not all of the works in “Walks of Art” are well-described, nor is the clue always in the name. I hunted around for ages looking for Thomas Heatherwick’s “Paternoster Vents”, described only as “wing-like sculptures…developed by folding a sheet of A4 paper”. Wings…right…I’m in the middle of Paternoster Square, am I looking for something white? Small? Foldey-looking? Professor Google always knows the answer, and directed me to another courtyard down an alley away from Paternoster Square, not really that clear from the map given in the book.

Thomas Heatherwick, 'Paternoster Vents', 2000, stainless steel, Paternoster Square, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Thomas Heatherwick, ‘Paternoster Vents’, 2000, stainless steel, Paternoster Square, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Number 9 on my tour, a bronze by Michael Ayrton, didn’t seem to exist or had been moved due to building works, so I took a picture of some shiny round things instead.

Was looking for the work by Michael Ayrton, ‘Icarus III – Varian I’, 1960-72, bronze, Old Change Court, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Also not on the list was St Paul’s Cathedral nor Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s red telephone box designed in 1924, so here they are together:

Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's telephone box, 1924, and St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s telephone box, 1924, and St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Last on my art jaunt is Anthony Caro’s “HSBC Gates”, abstract steel sculptures, which, depending on your height, are large enough to walk though on the way towards Tate Modern.

Anthony Caro, ‘HSBC Gates’, 2000, stainless steel, made in collaboration with architect Norman Foster, Queen Victoria Street, leading to the Millennium Bridge, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Anthony Caro, ‘HSBC Gates’, 2000, stainless steel, made in collaboration with architect Norman Foster, Queen Victoria Street, leading to the Millennium Bridge, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.
Anthony Caro, ‘HSBC Gates’, 2000, stainless steel, made in collaboration with architect Norman Foster, Queen Victoria Street, leading to the Millennium Bridge, EC4, London. Photo credit Kelise Franclemont.

Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable City circuit, and I’m looking forward to checking out another part of town next time the sun shines!

Recommended for: families; art-lovers; tourists; Londoners who’ve forgotten how beautiful their city is in Spring.

Related links and stories about art walks