Sculpture to leave city square after six years

Legs Walking, by celebrated local sculptor Kenneth Armitage, was loaned to the city in 2018

A sculpture is to be removed from City Square in Leeds after being on public display for six years.

Legs Walking, made by the late sculptor Kenneth Armitage, was loaned to the city by a private collector in 2018.

Leeds City Council said the collector, who wished to remain anonymous, had asked for its return.

The sculpture, which is due to be removed from its site beside the Mill Hill Chapel this week, is expected to remain on public display at a new location in Yorkshire.

Legs Walking was the penultimate work of Mr Armitage, who was born in Leeds and died in 2002, and was installed alongside another piece by the sculptor Both Arms, which will remain in place.

Councillor Salma Arif said the artwork had "paved the way" for a new generation of "world-class" public artworks.

Last November saw Yinka Shonibare’s Hibiscus Rising installed close to Aire Park.

The piece commemorated the life and death of David Oluwale, a British-Nigerian man who drowned in the River Aire after being chased by police in 1969.

Public artworks, such as Hibiscus Rising, have been displayed in the city to tell local stories

Hibiscus Rising closely followed the opening of The David Oluwale Bridge, which spans the River Aire between Sovereign Street and Water Lane.

Ribbons, a new piece by artist Pippa Hale, is also set to be unveiled later this year near Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill campus.

Comprised of five steel ribbons, the sculpture carries the names of almost 400 inspirational women from the city.

They include social reformer and suffragist, Isabella Ford, former Olympic boxer, Nicola Adams OBE and Leeds West Indian Carnival founder, Gertrude Paul.

Councillor Salma Arif said the public artworks captured the city's "heart and heritage"

The council said it was "keen to gather feedback" on creative ways to use City Square.

Salma Arif, its executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said it had been an "absolute privilege" to display Legs Walking in the city.

"We’d like to thank the owner for allowing this beautiful sculpture to be part of the city’s cultural landscape for so long," she said.

“It’s also inspiring to see the legacy this piece is leaving behind and how it has so successfully paved the way for a new generation of world class public artworks, telling important Leeds stories and capturing the heart and heritage of our city.”

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