The Fourth Plinth

The story

Three corners of Trafalgar Square hold bronze statues of King George IV, General Sir Charles James Napier and Major General Sir Henry Havelock. The fourth plinth, in the northwest, was intended for William IV but stood empty for around 150 years after the government ran out of money. The Royal Society of Arts launched the Fourth Plinth Project in the 1990s, and a Commissioning Group Panel of specialist advisors now guides each new work. The commissions are contemporary artworks in the public realm. One & Other put a different person on the plinth every hour, day and night, for 100 days. Heather Phillipson's The End arrived in 2020 and was followed by Samson Kambalu's Antelope, with Teresa Margolles commissioned for 2024. Lady in Blue, a bronze of an everyday Londoner going about her life, is a recent occupant.