Sell Sculpture

Sell Sculpture

Sell Sculpture

The city of Coventry has a preoccupation with looking into the past and also anticipating and planning for the future. A link with the past has in recent years been removed from the city in the form of the last sculpture of the artist Eric Gill.

Eric Gill – Brief Biography

Eric Gill is noted as a gifted English sculptor, letter-cutter, typographic designer, calligrapher and engraver who was born 22nd February 1882 and died 17th November 1940. The reputation as a gifted artist is, however, clouded today by evidence of his preoccupation with things of a sexual nature.

The Origins

It was in 1937 that Eric Gill drew sketches for an item of sculpture within Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital in Coventry based on the theme of the good Samaritan. The artist was to complete the work in October 1938 in situ in a prominent position above the main entrance of the hospital. During the night of 14th November 1940, the hospital received direct bombing hits - with Eric Gill’s sculpture receiving significant shrapnel damage.