Item 9 - Bust of CP Scott

1 object(s)

Formerly on display in Manchester Office. Moved to London on loan for Newsroom exhibition hall.

A bronze bust of CP Scott by Jacob Epstein, paid for by subscription raised by a letter sent out in the frst week of the General Strike in May 1926. Funding came from many prominent names in politics, religion and the arts, including three ex-Prime Ministers and the two Archbishops. Epstein was a very controversial sculptor at the time and was attacked for his 'obscene' nude sculptures that lined the British Medical Building on the Strand. Scott was one of the few who backed the sculptor, giving Epstein space and editorial support.

Another cast of the same bust was presented to the city of Manchester on 21st October 1926, the occasion of CP Scott's 80th birthday. Both Scott and Epstein were present. It was to be kept, as Lord Derby said on the occasion, "as a memorial of one who in difficult times always tried to do his duty".

The bust has been displayed, during its history: on a table in the library of the Manchester Guardian building on Cross Street (on the editorial floor); in the managment suite on the third floor of the Guardian's Manchester office at 164 Deansgate (from 1971); in the Newsroom at 60 Farringdon Road (from 2002) and at the Guardian's Kings Place office in London (from 2008).

Sources: Ian Mayes' forthcoming official history of the Guardian; GEN No.3 Vol 1 (January 1971); and the New York Times, 3 May 1926 ('Editor to be Honored by British Public; Bust of C.P. Scott of Manchester Guardian to Be Placed in City's Museum.')
Production place: Unknown
Materials: Bronze
Condition: Good
Completeness: Complete

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