The Equestrian statue of George I was commissioned by the city of Dublin in 1717 as a gesture of loyalty towards the King. The work was created by the workshop of John van Nost the Elder and depicts George wearing contemporary clothing with a Roman-style laurel wreath. The statue was displayed on Essex Bridge (now Grattan Bridge) in Dublin from 1722 until between 1753 and 1755. It was removed by George Semple during a bridge reconstruction to prevent water erosion from damaging the pedestal.
After its time on the bridge, the statue was re-erected in 1798 in the gardens of the Dublin Mansion House. In 1937, the statue was acquired for the Barber Institute in Birmingham by the institute's founding director, Thomas Bodkin. Bodkin had moved to the position in 1935 after serving as the director of the National Gallery of Ireland.
Today, the bronze statue stands outside the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham. It was granted legal protection as a Grade II listed structure in July 1982, which prevents the statue from being moved or altered without authorization.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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