THE future of the statue of famous York artist William Etty has been guaranteed by council bosses, following fears it could be moved from its city-centre location.

Improvements to Exhibition Square are part of City of York Council’s Reinvigorate York initiativ with firm details on the revamp expected later this year.

But the project has led to some concerns that the statue of Etty, which stands outside York Art Gallery, could be moved.

In a recent local authority report on York’s “public realm”, council officers said the square must come under the microscope because it suffered from heavy traffic and there was a need to “make more enjoyable use of the space”. This could include “reconsideration” of the statue, said the report.

However, Gill Cooper, the authority’s head of culture, tourism and city-centre, said: “As part of the early consultation, it was agreed the whole square needs to be looked at to see how it might look and work better for everybody.

“That includes the fountain and statue as well as everything else, especially bus movement.

“However, there are no plans to move the statue.

“There will be further consultation, detailed analysis and a design proposal for the square later this year.”

She said the Reinvigorate York steering group had been given ideas for the future “concept” of the square and these are to be discussed in early 2014.


Fact file

William Etty, who died in 1849, is regarded as York’s best-known artist.

He is renowned for his work with nudes and history paintings, but also painted many landscapes and portraits.

The art gallery has the largest collection of his work, including 78 paintings and more than 1,000 sketches and drawings.