Public art unveiled at historic city landmark
Inspiring: ‘Man with open arms’ by Giles Penny is one of three artworks at Royal Barham House
A trio of artworks by British artists has been unveiled in Truro to commemorate the former Royal Cornwall Infirmary which our South West region has brought back to life as new homes.
Giles Penny, a British sculptor best known for his abstract versions of the human form, designed two of the public installations, with the third the brainchild of Lavigne Lonsdale.
The new collection of apartments is called Royal Barham House and it is home to Giles’s spectacular ‘Man with open arms’ – an impressive eight-foot piece cast from bronze.
Giles said: “The location and the view over Truro is breathtaking, the newly restored hospital has created a new and exciting sense of place and the ‘man with arms open’ sculpture helps to create a presence that is fitting for such a location.”
His second piece is ‘Cat on a bench’ and made from iron. The third artwork is an arch gate by Lavigne Lonsdale which carries the words “Former City Hospital 1799” to honour the year of its opening.
There is also a plaque on the arch to state how the arch miraculously survived the bombing raids of the Second World War.
The hospital was derelict after it closed in 1999 and has been lovingly transformed into two, three and four bedroom luxury homes.
