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The Meeting Place

The Meeting Place is a bronze sculpture at the south end of the upper level of St Pancras railway station, in the Eurostar terminal. Designed by British artist Paul Day and unveiled in November 2007, it was installed as the centrepiece of the refurbished station. The work is intended to evoke the romance of travel through the depiction of a couple locked in an amorous embrace. It was commissioned by London and Continental Railways and is reported to have cost £1 million. The sculpture is modelled on the artist and his wife.

The Meeting Place bronze sculpture of a couple embracing beneath a large glass roof.
The Meeting Place shows a bronze couple in an embrace, set against a grand interior backdrop.
August 2015 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Meeting Place bronze sculpture of a man and woman embracing inside a large vaulted hall.
The Meeting Place sculpture stands beneath a vaulted glass ceiling in the hall.
February 2011 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Meeting Place bronze sculpture of a couple embracing inside St Pancras International Station.
The Meeting Place, a large bronze sculpture of an embracing couple, stands inside St Pancras International Station.
July 2016 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Meeting Place bronze sculpture showing a man kissing a woman’s forehead in a close embrace.
The Meeting Place bronze sculpture in London depicts a couple in an intimate embrace.
March 2015 © · CC0
Close-up of bronze-like sculpted figures in The Meeting Place, including a man in a suit and tie in the foreground.
A close-up of The Meeting Place shows a crowd of sculpted figures, with a suited man prominent in the foreground.
© · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleThe Meeting Place
Alternative nameThe Lovers; Liebespaar ("lovers")

Historical context

TypeMonument
Year created2007
Commissioned as part ofthe reconstruction and refurbishment of St Pancras station

Creator

ArtistPaul Day
Artist nationalityBritish

Discovery and provenance

Station reconstruction costabout £800 million
Costreported to have cost £1 million
Working locationa studio in Chichester, West Sussex
Commissioned byLondon and Continental Railways
ModelPaul Day and his wife Catherine

Technique

Production processfirst a small clay model, then a full-size polystyrene replica, which was cast in plaster and then in bronze

Physical characteristics

Height9 metres
Weight20 tonnes
Clock above the sculpturea replica of a 10-metre original by Dent Clocks
FriezeA bronze frieze surrounds the pedestal

Materials

Materialbronze
Model materialclay; polystyrene; plaster

Appearance

Frieze scenesA train driven by a skeletal Grim Reaper-like figure; a bearded drunk staggering with a bottle beside a passing train; a man about to throw himself in front of a train in a love-related suicide attempt, reflected in a fellow passenger's sunglasses; a woman in a short skirt sitting on her lover's lap while waiting for the next train; soldiers going by train to the front during World War I; evacuation from London Underground stations after the 7 July 2005 terrorist attacks
Depicted manWearing a business suit and carrying a backpack
Frieze themeTransport-themed scenes from the history of the station
DescriptionTwo connected statues of a man and a woman reunited in an amorous embrace
Depicted womanWearing high heels and a knee-length dress

Iconography and meaning

SymbolismRepresents the union of an Englishman and a Frenchwoman and the meeting of Great Britain and France
Intended themeTo evoke the romance of travel

Location and ownership

Installation contextInstalled as the centrepiece of the refurbished station
LocationUnder the clock at the southern end of the upper level of St Pancras station, by the Eurostar terminal, London, United Kingdom

History and restoration

Opened withthe reconstructed St Pancras station
Related clock historythe original clock broke in the 1970s, was later rebuilt by a former railway worker, and attached to the front of his house in Thurgarton, Nottinghamshire
Unveiled byQueen Elizabeth II
Unveiled7 November 2007
InstalledOctober 2007
CompletedJuly 2007
Frieze added2008
Frieze revisionThe frieze was revised before the final version was installed

Significance

Public receptionPoorly received by much of the UK artistic community, though it became popular with the public
Public reaction to friezeThe 2008 frieze addition drew a new wave of criticism, though one critic described it as a satirical look at London
Critical commentsAnthony Gormley called it "shit" and also "a very good example of the crap out there"; Joan Bakewell called it "kitsch" and "banal"; Giles Waterfield called it "the worst" he had ever seen; Jeremy Deller dismissed it as "barely a work of art"; Will Self called it "shit kitsch" and "kitsch-mist"; Jonathan Jones called it "idiotic in its scale" and "without artistic feeling"; Stephen Bailey called it "unproportionate and crudely shaped"; Tim Marlow called it "a terrible, saccharine, sentimental piece of kitsch"; other descriptions included "vulgar", "exaggerated", "truly horrifying", "dreary and mournful", and "dreary and sad"
Comparison by journalistsCompared with Rodin's The Kiss and the Statue of Liberty as a future landmark

Other

Artist response to criticismPaul Day said the criticism directed at the monument was "shit" and that many people would detest it because it is not violent or controversial
Location contextAssociated with St Pancras station; image captions also place it at St Pancras