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A Conversation with Oscar Wilde

A Conversation with Oscar Wilde is an outdoor sculpture by Maggi Hambling in central London. Unveiled in 1998, it was the first public monument dedicated to Oscar Wilde outside his native Ireland. The work takes the form of a green granite sarcophagus, shaped like a bench, with a bust of Wilde emerging from the top and one hand holding a cigarette. The sculpture drew controversy for its portrayal of Wilde laughing and smoking, and it has been widely discussed by critics. It also became known for repeated public removal of the cigarette, which was sometimes sawn off or replaced.

A Conversation with Oscar Wilde granite monument with a bronze bust holding a cigarette.
A Conversation with Oscar Wilde by Maggi Hambling in Charing Cross, London.
October 2019 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
A Conversation with Oscar Wilde sculpture on a granite bench beside a paved walkway.
The bronze sculpture A Conversation with Oscar Wilde by Maggi Hambling sits on a dark granite bench in a pedestrian area.
March 2008 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
A Conversation with Oscar Wilde bench sculpture with an abstract bronze-toned bust and swirling hair on a city sidewalk.
A Conversation with Oscar Wilde sculpture by Maggi Hambling on a London street corner.
March 2008 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
A Conversation with Oscar Wilde monument on a city sidewalk, with a dark sculptural head on top and pedestrians in the background.
A Conversation with Oscar Wilde stands on Adelaide Street with its dark sculptural head above an inscribed monument.
October 2025 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
A long dark stone monument with an oxidized bronze bust and engraved text, set on a paved street with buildings and trees behind it.
A Conversation with Oscar Wilde, a long sculptural monument with a bronze bust and engraved text, photographed on a city street.
March 2008 © · CC BY-SA 2.0

Identification

TitleA Conversation with Oscar Wilde
Typepublic memorial sculpture
SubjectOscar Wilde

Historical context

Proposal periodlate 1980s to early 1990s
Early proponentsfans of Wilde's work, including Derek Jarman
Committee formedAfter Derek Jarman's death in 1994, a committee called "A Statue for Oscar Wilde" was formed to bring the memorial to fruition

Creator

ArtistMaggi Hambling
Committee chairJeremy Isaacs
Committee membersDame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, and Seamus Heaney
Selection processTwelve artists submitted sketches; six were selected to create maquette models
Design descriptiondescribed as "witty and amusing"

Discovery and provenance

Fundingfunded by hundreds of individual donors and foundations

Physical characteristics

Depictiona bust of Oscar Wilde emerging from the top, shown laughing and smoking, with one hand holding a cigarette
Forma green granite sarcophagus resembling a bench

Materials

Materialgreen granite

Iconography and meaning

Inscription"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"
Inscription sourceOscar Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan

Location and ownership

Locationbehind St Martin-in-the-Fields church, between Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross Station, Central London
Dedicationthe first public monument dedicated to Oscar Wilde outside his native Ireland

History and restoration

Unveiled30 November 1998
Pre-unveiling exhibitiona 1997 exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showing drawings, models, and maquettes
Related memorialthe London sculpture was narrowly preceded by the Dublin Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture by Danny Osborne in Merrion Square, Dublin, unveiled in 1997

Significance

Receptionreceived a mixed and controversial response; criticized by Tom Lubbock and Charles Spencer, while Jeremy Isaacs said it had already evoked a more favourable public reaction than most London statues, possibly except Peter Pan
Vandalismthe cigarette has repeatedly been removed by members of the public, sawn off or replaced; Philip Ardagh called it "the most frequent act of vandalism/veneration done to a public statue in London"
Related publicationincluded in Depicted in Smoke: a global history of smoking
Related studyone of five works or events considered in The Resurrection of Oscar Wilde: A Cultural Afterlife

Other

Other works/events in related studythe consecration of a window in Wilde's honour in Poet's Corner, Peter Tatchell's campaign for a Royal Pardon, the 1997 film Wilde, and the public gatherings on the centenary of Wilde's death