§ Mr. Keelingasked the Prime Minister if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the opinion of the Royal Fine Art Commission on the proposed Roosevelt Memorial.
§ The Prime Minister, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 12th December, 1946; Vol. 431, c. 1332], supplied the following -information:
The statement by the Chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission is as follows:
'The design for the statue and its setting as first presented to the Commission, showed a standing figure in a cleared space in Grosvenor Square. The Commission on being informed by the Memorial Committee that the site had been determined and that the sculptor had been asked to portray a standing figure, limited their observations to those arising from the design itself, the relation of the statue to its setting, and the layout of the Square.The Commissioners were shown a small plaster cast of the figure by the sculptor; and they discussed the pedestal, the base, the exact location of the statue and the treatment of the Square with the committee's architect and the representative of the Ministry of Works. They also visited the Square accompanied by the architect and the Ministry of Works representative.After full consideration they recommended certain revisions, including the retention of more trees, an alteration in layout, and an amended design for the pedestal. At this stage, in order not to delay the appeal, the Commissioners gave general approval to the scheme as subsequently illustrated in the Souvenir Books published by the committee, and stated that in their opinion the plaster cast would be a suitable model for the eventual figure in bronze.At a further meeting with the committee's architect and the Ministry of Works representative the amended layout was accepted as appropriate, subject to further modifications in the design of the paths and basins The pedestal has still to be finally approved, and discussions with the committee's architect on this point are proceeding.