Thirty-foot sculpture of a horse’s head travels to Australia

A vast sculpture of a horse’s head – which has become a West Sussex landmark – is on its way to Australia where it will serve as a memorial at the grave of the entrepreneur and polo patron Kerry Packer.

The 30ft high bronze, Artemis, was created by the artist Nic Fiddian-Green and has been bought for £1m.

It originally stood on the South Downs, near Chichester, looking across the Selsey peninsula and was moved to Goodwood in July 2010 for the racing festival (news, 17 June 2010).

Mr Fiddian-Green told H&H he was “humbled” that his sculpture had been selected.

“It is quite an honour,” he said. “It is a rather wonderful end to a long journey, as it has taken me 30 years to have the confidence to make this.”

Artemis – which weighs four tonnes – is due to arrive in New South Wales at the end of December. It will go on the Packer family estate, in the Great Dividing Range of mountains.

Mr Fiddian-Green said he had been inspired by a trip to see the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum when he was a student and a horse’s head caught his attention.

“It has obsessed me,” he said. “It embodies a lot of emotions – hope, nobility and dignity.”

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse and Hound (17 November, 2011)

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