Photos

The statue of the Spirit of Liverpool was located on top of the Walker Art Gallery on William Brown Street for over a century from 1877. In 1993 it was removed as it was no longer structurally safe. A replica Spirit of Liverpool was carved in marble and put back in place of the original on the roof of the Walker Art Gallery. The original sculpture was conserved and went on display in the National Conservation Centre in 1996.

The sculptor who carved the Spirit of Liverpool in the 1870s, John Warrington Wood, created an allegorical statue in which there are many symbols representing the city of Liverpool in the late 19th century.

Liverpool is portrayed as a gigantic royal woman wearing a crown and a laurel wreath on her head. She is sitting on a bale of cotton that portrays Liverpool’s trade and industry. A Liver bird, a fictional bird that is a symbol of Liverpool, is sitting by her left arm and in her left hand she is holding a steamship propeller. In her right hand she is holding a trident. Both the trident and the propeller are symbols of domination over the sea. At her feet is a painter’s palette, a compass and a setsquare.

This combination of objects was meant to symbolise that the arts find their support from trade and industry. This is not an unusual idea to be put forward in the late 19th centaury, especially by wealthy businessmen who supported grand building and artistic projects in Liverpool at this time.