Gorilla, Grade II listed marble statue in Crystal Palace Park, London Borough of Bromley, England.
Gorilla is a black marble statue in Crystal Palace Park depicting a gorilla resting on all fours, standing about 1.2 meters tall on a polished Belgian marble base. The sculpture sits near the Lower Lake within the park.
The sculpture was created in 1961 by David Wynne and based on Guy, a western lowland gorilla from Cameroon who lived at London Zoo. It came about through a post-war arts patronage program run by the London County Council.
The sculpture honors Guy, a renowned gorilla from London Zoo, and represents how people in the post-war period thought about the relationship between humans and animals. Visitors today still connect with this story as they encounter the statue.
The statue sits near the Lower Lake and the cafe in the park, making it easy to find while walking around. The marble surface invites visitors, especially children, to touch and explore the sculpture.
Artist David Wynne spent nine months observing and sketching Guy at the zoo to accurately capture the gorilla's movements and behavior. This extended study allowed him to create a sculpture with remarkable detail and authenticity.
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