Description:Sculpted c. 1741 by Peter Scheemakers (1691-1781) from a design by William Kent (1684-1748)
This statue is one of the most widely reproduced likenesses of Shakespeare, copied for publications, souvenirs and ornaments and, in the late twentieth century, the twenty-pound note.
For the group which commissioned the statue, Shakespeare was a national hero and symbolised opposition to the government of Sir Robert Walpole.
The pedestal to the left of Shakespeare features busts of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry V and Richard III.
Location: Westminster Abbey, London
Source: Michael Dobson The Making of the National Poet 134--146, Kent entry in DNB 1892.