Morning and Night

Morning and Night 

  • Artist: John Cassidy (1860-1939)
  • Date: 1914
  • Medium: Sandstone
  • Research and Cultural Collections
  • Accession number: BIRRC-A0423a-b 
  • Location: Garth House garden. To find this sculpture, you can either use its what three words location or use the campus digital map.

 Two sandstone figures nestle within the hedgerows of the gardens of Garth House, now part of the University’s Edgbaston Park Hotel. The two standing stones are by Irish sculptor John Cassidy. He was a prolific artist and created many sculptures and memorials for public spaces. Morning, on the left, depicts a small boy playing the pipes and Night, on the right, depicts a female figure sleeping. Both figures feature plant shoots carved into the stone rising up from the base, as though the garden is growing up around them.

Two standing stone sculptures Morning and Night by John Cassidy in context of garden
Stone sculpture Morning by John Cassidy
Stone sculpture Night by John Cassidy
Close up detail of stone sculpture Night by John Cassidy featuring carved stone bow and arrow quiver and flower

 

Visual description

This pair of sculptures are set in the grounds of the University’s Edgbaston Park Hotel. They are in a landscaped garden near Garth House. From the main hotel carpark, a step free compacted gravel path forks away from the main path and runs in a u-shape behind the area of garden where the sculptures are located. Following the path round there is a hedge on the left. The path emerges at a compacted gravel area below the patio in front of Garth House looking over the lawn and gardens. The sculptures are set back from the path, across a lawn area and sit at either end of a u-shaped hedge.

The sculpture called Morning is on the left-hand side of the hedge. It sits within a second much smaller u-shaped hedge area. Morning is a small human-scale sculpture carved in stone. It is a natural warm yellow stone colour due to the material quality of the sandstone. It has sage-green lichen growing on its surface which add particular definition to the details of the hands and hair. It depicts a young male figure with a full head of textured hair. The figure is hunched over a set of panpipes which it appears to be playing. Its hands grip the panpipes to the centre of its chest and its mouth is touching the top of the pipes. It is wearing a cloak which ends below its waist. A plant shoot with an ivy leaf is carved into the stone rising up from the base as of it is growing up it. The lower half of the sculpture tapers to a squared off shape at the base into which is carved the title, ‘Morning’.

The sculpture called Night is on the right-hand side of the hedge. It sits within a second much smaller u-shaped hedge area. Beside it is a mature beech tree with a bench underneath it in shade. Night is a small human-scale figure carved in stone which appears to be female with long hair running down and into its cloak. It is a natural warm yellow stone colour due to the material quality of the sandstone, it has sage-green lichen growing all over it which gives it overall green tinged appearance. The figure’s face is pointing downwards and the eyes appear to be closed as if it is sleeping. Its cloak is wrapped closely around it and its left hand can be seen clasped to its chest under the cloak. Its right arm is resting down at its right side under the clock. Its right hand protrudes out of the bottom of the cloak, over a quiver of arrows and a small bow which is hanging across the front of the lower half of the figure. A plant shoot with a flower is carved into the stone rising up from the base as of it is growing up it. The lower half of the sculpture tapers to a squared off shape at the base into which is carved the title, ‘Night’.