Statue of Sigmund Freud

What it is

This is a seated bronze statue of Sigmund Freud, slightly larger than life size, created by the sculptor Oscar Nemon. It stands on a stone plinth near the Tavistock Clinic in Hampstead, London, close to where Freud lived at the end of his life. It was commissioned in the 1960s and unveiled in 1970.

Why it matters

Nemon had sketched and sculpted Freud from life in Vienna in 1931 and again in London in 1938, shortly before Freud's death. Freud himself commented on Nemon's portrait in his diary, and his housekeeper remarked that Nemon had made him look angry — to which Freud agreed. The statue reflects how Freud was seen, and saw himself, near the end of his life.

Why it matters

Freud's daughter Anna Freud, herself a psychoanalyst, attended the statue's unveiling.

Look closer

• Why do you think the sculptor chose to show Freud deep in thought rather than in action?
• What does it mean that Freud commented on his own portrait while the artist was still working?
• Why might a statue be moved from one location to another, as this one was?