Minerva
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Broyle Road |
| Town: | Chichester |
| Parish: | Chichester |
| Council: | Chichester District Council |
| County: | West Sussex |
| Postcode: | PO19 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Outside building |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | Outside the foyer of the Minerva Theatre, Oaklands Park. |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 140 |
| Grid reference: | C5 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
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Makers
| Name : | Philip Jackson |
| Role: | Sculptor |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | Minerva Theatre |
| Construction period: | 1997 |
| Unveiling date: | 1997 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Chichester Festival Theatre |
| Object listing: | Not listed |
| Description: | A larger than life-size sculpture representing a cloaked and hooded Minerva on a simple bronze bench atop a rectangular brick base. The left hand and arm are outstretched towards a warrior's helmet towards the far edge of the bench. The right arm is supporting the reclining position. The statue stands at the door to the Minerva Theatre. |
| Iconographical description: | Minerva was the Roman Goddess of crafts, poetry and wisdom and is known as the inventor of music. She was also Goddess of warriors, medicine, wisdom and commerce. The Romans said that Minerva was not born in the usual way, but rather Jupiter had a horrible headache and Vulcan opened up his head and out came Minerva, fully grown, and dressed in armour, a long trailing robe, a helmet, a shield and a spear. |
| Signatures: | Base of the right arm of the cloak:
JACKSON |
| Inscription: | LESLIE EVERSHED-MARTIN CBE SB ST. J. (1903-1994) FOUNDER OF CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE |
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Classification
| Categories: | Commemorative, Sculptural, Free Standing |
| Object type1: | Statue |
| Object type2: | Sculpture |
| Subject type1: | Figurative |
| Subject subtype1: | Seated |
| Subject type2: | Mythological |
| Subject subtype1: | Full-length |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Base |
| Material: | Brick |
| Height (cm): | 45 |
| Width (cm): | 215 |
| Depth (cm): | 135 |
| Part 2: | Sculpture |
| Material: | Bronze, patinated blue/green |
| Height (cm): | 160 |
| Width (cm): | 175 |
| Depth (cm): | 95 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 01/05/2007 |
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History
| History: | Commissioned to commemorate the founder of the Chichester Festival Theatre, Leslie Evershed Martin. It was unveiled in 1997 by Carol Evershed Martin.
Chichester Festival Theatre started as the brainchild of local ophthalmic Leslie Evershed-Martin. He got the idea in 1959 when he watched a television programme about the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Stratford, Ontario - built on the edge of a city, in a park. He decided there should be such a theatre in Chichester and set about raising the £105,000 needed to build the theatre by means of private fundraising, public subscription and commercial sponsorship. Evershed-Martin wrote to Sir Laurence Olivier, who at that point was working in the USA, and asked him to become involved in the project. After some discussion between the two, it was decided that Olivier would become the Festival Theatre's inaugural Artistic Director. It was Olivier's vision that the theatre would produce several shows to run in repertoire sharing the same ensemble cast. And so it was that the theatre opened in 1962 with a 'festival' of three shows which were to run for three weeks (see a list of past productions) - hence Festival Theatre and Festival Season. Between '62 and '65 Olivier established a company of actors and other theatre practitioners at Chichester which provided the nucleus of his National Theatre Company. As the Festival Theatre became more established, some of the actors wanting to do more daring and challenging work effectively started their own fringe festival in the form of the New Ventures project at the Dolphin and Anchor Hotel. These impromptu performances grew in scale and moved into a large marquee, known as The Tent, opposite the Festival Theatre. It was the work of these actors which prompted the creation of the Minerva Theatre which stands today on The Tent's old site and keeps alive its tradition of exploring new and exciting work. The Minerva Theatre itself opened in April 1989 under the direction of Sam Mendes, after a successful fundraising campaign including a donation of £500,000 from a local businessman. (http://www.cft.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1107) |
| Hard archive file: | No |
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References
Further information: | |
| http://philipjacksonsculptures.co.uk/ | |
| http://www.cft.org.uk/ | |
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Photographs
Date: 01/05/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Date: 01/05/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Date: 01/05/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Date: 01/05/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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