Statue of John Keats, Moorgate

Statue of John Keats
Artist	Martin Jennings
Year	2024
Medium	Sculpture
Subject	John Keats
Location	Moorgate, City of London, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°31′04″N 0°05′21″W

A statue of the English Romantic poet John Keats is located in Moorfields, Moorgate in the City of London. It was sculpted by Martin Jennings and depicts a larger than life-size copy of a life mask of Keats taken aged 21. Keats was the son of an ostler at the nearby inn, The Swan and Hoop.^[1] It was unveiled by Michael Mainelli, the Lord Mayor of London, on 31 October 2024, the 229th anniversary of Keats' birth.^[2][3]

The circular base of slate around the plinth is inscribed with a quote from the fifth stanza of Keats' 1819 Ode on Indolence:

My sleep had been embroider'd with dim dreams;
My soul had been a lawn besprinkled o'er
With flowers.^[1]

It was funded by Alderman Bob Hall who had previously funded the John Donne Memorial near St Paul's Cathedral.^[1][4]

References

1. Creamer, Ella (26 October 2024). "John Keats statue to be unveiled near his birthplace in London's Moorgate". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
2. "Lord Mayor, City of London". x.com. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
3. Jack Mendel (26 October 2024). "Bronze sculpture of poet John Keats to be unveiled in London". City AM. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
4. "LondonLife – John Keats at Moorgate…". November 5, 2024.