The world’s greatest public artworks

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Yesterday was the last chance to see the entries for the next installment of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. The two artworks to take pride of place in 2015 and 2016 will be unveiled in early 2014. Plucked from a shortlist of six, the two pieces will replace Katharina Fritsch’s Hahn/Cock – the big blue cockerel that currently stands there. But they’ll have to go some way to top some of the world’s most outstanding public artworks. We’ve picked out some of the most astonishing, stand-out pieces from across the globe that Trafalgar Square has to compete with…


ASSOCIATED PRESS - Pioneer Plaza Where? Dallas, USA One statue wasn’t good enough for Dallas, so Robert Summers was commissioned to create an entire scene. It’s classic cowboy stuff, with 49 larger-than-life bronze longhorn steers being driven down a hillside and across a stream by three horsemen. It’s an epic scale piece, made even better by the landscaping and being able to immerse yourself in the cattle drive, walking freely amongst the giant cows.


Another Place Where? Crosby, Merseyside The Angel of the North by the A1 in Gateshead in Antony Gormley’s most famous piece of public art, but Another Place is arguably the most thought-provoking. It consists of 100 iron statues – casts of Gormley’s own body - spread over two miles of beach. They get submerged as the tide comes in, altering the scene at different times of day. All of them are looking out to sea, creating an air of contemplation.