Public Art - The Metal Tree

The Metal Tree is a stainless steel abstract sculpture located in a small open space adjacent to the Belgrave Gate entrances to the Haymarket Centre and the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester City, Leicestershire, East Midlands, England.The sculptor was Hubert Dalwood ARA. It was made in 1972 and unveiled in 1974. It is listed at number 135 in his online work archieves.The sculpture is designed to be comparable to the trees which, originally, it was adjacent to - those trees have since been removed so it doesn't quite have that relationship which was more obviously visible as it originally was - but it can be more easily seen all around in its location because of those later removals.The sculpture's history is that Paul Hickinbottom a consultant surgeon and his wife Catherine offered a amount to assist the cost of a contemporary sculpture purchase and installation as part of the Haymarket Centre, which was being built then. The Arts Council supplemented the Hickinbottoms' gift with an additional amount.It was the only major abstract sculpture in Leicester City Centre for many years.