Virginia Woolf — Laury Dizengremel
Laury Dizengremel · Upper Terrace, Richmond Riverside, London, United Kingdom
Photo: Matt Brown / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, taken 6 July 2025, the same photo as in the Street Art Utopia post. Full photograph shown.
Virginia Woolf sits on a bench on the upper terraces of Richmond Riverside, smiling, book in hand, with room beside her for anyone who wants to sit down. The Guardian, 16 Nov 2022 · Aurora Metro · Art UK Checked Laury Dizengremel’s life-size bronze was unveiled on 16 November 2022 after a five-year campaign led by the local writer and publisher Cheryl Robson. Aurora Metro · SW Londoner, 18 Nov 2022 Checked
More photos
4 things to know
- Shown happy, on purposeCheryl Robson wanted to show Woolf happy, “to challenge the stereotype”, and Dizengremel called the chance to portray her happy side “a total thrill”. The Guardian, 16 Nov 2022 · Fine Books Magazine, 21 Nov 2022 Checked
- A Dublin poet started itThe idea of a seated Woolf who welcomes interaction came partly from John Coll’s statue of Patrick Kavanagh beside Dublin’s Grand Canal, which is also in our Street Art Utopia post. The Guardian, 16 Nov 2022 Checked
- A row about the riverIn November 2021 the Richmond Society called a riverside seat insensitive, given that Woolf drowned herself, and suggested other sites. Richmond council’s committee approved the riverside plan. The Guardian, 20 Nov 2021 Checked
- Helped by another statueDonations poured in during November 2020 after Maggi Hambling’s naked Mary Wollstonecraft statue was criticised; the fund then stood at almost £16,000 of £50,000. The Guardian, 13 Nov 2020 Checked
Where it is
- 📍
- Upper Terrace, Richmond Riverside, Richmond, London TW9 1EP, near the entrance to Heron Court. Art UK · Aurora Metro Checked
- 🪑
- The bench is part of the artwork: you can sit beside her and take a photo. Aurora Metro · SW Londoner, 18 Nov 2022 Checked
- 🕰️
- Outdoors and open at all times, according to the Art UK record. Art UK Reported
Sightings
- 2017
Campaign launched by Cheryl Robson
- 202013 Nov
Fundraiser surges after the Wollstonecraft row
- 2021Nov
Council committee approves the riverside site
- 202216 Nov
Unveiled on Richmond Riverside
- 202321 Jan
Photographed by The wub
- 20256 Jul
Our photo, by Matt Brown
Every stamp links to its source. The amber stamps are steps of the campaign, not photos of the statue. The green stamps are the unveiling (16 November 2022) and two dated photographs on Wikimedia Commons, from 21 January 2023 and 6 July 2025.
On the record
A Statue of One’s Own: the new Virginia Woolf sculpture that’s challenging stereotypes
“I was keen to show her happy, to challenge the stereotype,”
Cheryl Robson, the local publisher who organised the fundraiser.
Virginia Woolf Statue for Richmond
“The piece features Woolf in repose on a bench, where people can sit next to her in lively conversation, while enjoying the Richmond riverside.”
Planned Virginia Woolf statue challenged as insensitive
“Given the manner of her illness and eventually the way that she died … it struck us as a little bit insensitive to have this statue and figure of Virginia Woolf seated on a bench gazing over the water,”
Barry May, chair of the Richmond Society, as the council approved the plans.
Virginia Woolf Statue Unveiled
“Being asked to create the first ever full figure statue of Virginia Woolf, and to portray her happy side was a total thrill.”
The sculptor, Laury Dizengremel.
The facts
- Artist
- Laury Dizengremel. Aurora Metro · The Guardian, 16 Nov 2022 Checked
- Unveiled
- 16 November 2022, by Woolf’s great-niece Emma Woolf with her son Ludo, and great-great-niece Sophie Partridge. Aurora Metro · SW Londoner, 18 Nov 2022 Checked
- Place
- Upper Terrace, Richmond Riverside, Richmond, London TW9 1EP, United Kingdom. Art UK · Aurora Metro Checked
- Medium
- Life-size bronze, cast by the lost-wax method; the bench is part of the artwork. Aurora Metro · Art UK Checked
- Made for
- Commissioned by the charity Aurora Metro Arts and Media after a campaign Cheryl Robson launched in 2017. Aurora Metro Checked
- Cost
- Aurora Metro says £50,000 paid for design and manufacture, with further funds raised for shipping, installation and publicity; SW Londoner says the £50,000 covered all of these; Fine Books reports over £60,000 raised. We lean towards Aurora Metro, the charity that raised the money. Aurora Metro · SW Londoner, 18 Nov 2022 · Fine Books Magazine, 21 Nov 2022 Conflicting
- Consultations
- Richmond council consultations were 83% in favour in 2018, and 91% (Aurora Metro) or 92% (The Guardian) in 2021. We lean towards Aurora Metro, which ran the campaign and quotes the council consultation directly. Aurora Metro · The Guardian, 16 Nov 2022 Conflicting
- Status
- Seen in Matt Brown’s photograph of 6 July 2025; Art UK lists the statue as extant. Matt Brown / Wikimedia Commons, 6 Jul 2025 · Art UK Checked
- Our photo
- Matt Brown, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, taken 6 July 2025. Matt Brown / Wikimedia Commons, 6 Jul 2025 Checked
Related
- There’s Room on the Bench (13 Photos): the SAU collection with Woolf and twelve other bench statues
- Patrick Kavanagh — John Coll: the Dublin bench statue that helped inspire this one
All sources (11)
Official and records
- Aurora Metro Arts and Media: “Virginia Woolf Statue”, the commissioning charity’s page. Artist, lost-wax bronze, campaign, consultations, council permission and the 16 November 2022 unveiling.
- Art UK: “Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)”, sculpture record. Bronze, 2022, unveiled 16 November 2022, Upper Terrace, Richmond Riverside, TW9 1EP; status extant.
Press
- The Guardian: “Virginia Woolf statue fundraiser flooded with donations after Wollstonecraft controversy”, Alison Flood, 13 November 2020.
- The Guardian: “Planned Virginia Woolf statue challenged as insensitive”, Harry Taylor, 20 November 2021. The Richmond Society’s objection and the council committee’s approval.
- The Guardian: “A Statue of One’s Own: the new Virginia Woolf sculpture that’s challenging stereotypes”, Katy Guest, 16 November 2022. The unveiling, the happy pose and the Kavanagh inspiration.
- Literary Hub: “You can finally take a selfie with a full-size statue of Virginia Woolf.”, 16 November 2022.
- SW Londoner: “Virginia Woolf statue unveiled in Richmond”, 18 November 2022. The unveiling, the fundraising books and the £50,000.
- Fine Books Magazine: “Virginia Woolf Statue Unveiled”, 21 November 2022. The Upper Terraces site and the sculptor’s words.
Photos
- Wikimedia Commons: “Statue of Virginia Woolf, Richmond Riverside – 2023-01-21.jpg”, The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0, 21 January 2023.
- Wikimedia Commons: “Statue of Virginia Woolf, Richmond Riverside 2025-07-06.jpg”, Matt Brown, CC BY 4.0, 6 July 2025. Our photo.
Street Art Utopia
- Street Art Utopia: “There’s Room on the Bench (13 Photos)”, 20 October 2026. The SAU post with this work.
Artwork File · Last checked 21 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files