Campaign for sculpture of feminist Elsie Inglis is 'paused' after row

Elsie Inglis established Scottish Women's Hospitals in Edinburgh in 1914

The campaign to make an Edinburgh sculpture in honour of the feminist Dr Elsie Inglis has been paused.

It follows a row after trustees commissioned a male sculptor who had not entered a submission to make the statue.

The move caused uproar from artists on social media.

Trustees said "the level of vitriol directed by some contributors" was "bordering on the defamatory" and have now temporarily stopped the campaign.

The row started after the charity trustees planning the statue on the Royal Mile cancelled their contest to find an artist and appointed the royal sculptor Alexander Stoddart instead.

It said the rethink came after watching the Queen's cortege in Edinburgh last month, saying the statue "needed to meet with the historical consciousness of the Royal Mile".

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However, artists criticised the decision by the charity, which raised over £50,000, saying it ignored its own competition rules.

Sculptors, some of whom had spent hundreds of hours on their competition entries, insisted the move was "wrong" and "unfair".

Negative feedback

Edinburgh author Sara Sheridan, who wrote a book about female statues titled 'Where are the Women?', has been campaigning for a sculpture of Elsie Inglis in Edinburgh.

She said: "It is with great sadness that I no longer feel it would be authentic for me to actively campaign for this cause. I would, however, reinstate my support if the trustees can resolve the situation."

The charity, A Statue for Elsie Inglis, said: "The reaction to our decision has comprised both positive support and negative but what's concerning is the level of vitriol directed by some of the contributors, which is bordering on the defamatory.

"Given this position, the trustees have taken the decision to pause the process and reflect on both the positive and negative feedback, received, particularly from our supporters to date, to consider our options and will make further comment after this period of reflection."

It is understood Mr Stoddart - the King's Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland - is still to take on the commission.

Natasha Phoenix, an artist who said she worked for 650 hours on a proposal for the statue competition, criticised the trustees for pausing the campaign.

She said: "It's another action that's not transparent, hasn't been explained and shows a complete lack of comprehension as to how the general public feel about this.

"The trustees are acting in a bubble of their own making and imagining that this furore on social media will just disappear."

Dr Inglis, who was born to a wealthy family in 1864, established maternity services for poor women in Edinburgh.

When World War One began in 1914 she wanted to work on the front line, but was told by the war office that women were not allowed.

However, Britain's allies allowed her to help and she set up 17 Scottish women's hospitals for injured soldiers across Europe.

Along with colleagues and associates from the suffragist movement, she raised the equivalent of £53m in today's money to buy medical equipment to help those on the front line.