Market Woman

Market Woman was commissioned in 1965 by architects J. Seymour Harris and partners when they were developing the Forum shopping centre. Wallsend stands at the eastern end of Hadrian’s wall, which inspired Schwarz to depict a Roman period woman with a wicker basket on her head containing four hens to sell at the market. In this statue he is drawing attention to the history of the area and  the subjugation of the local population by Emperor Hadrian. Schwarz explained to a local schoolgirl that he wanted the woman ‘ to appear as a tough, hardworking peasant…’.  The stoicism of the woman’s pose contrasts with the flapping hens in the basket.

The green-black bronze figure has stylistic similarities with Elizabeth Frink. Schwarz has deliberately created a rough finish to show that the bronze is hand-worked. The patchy nature of the colouration gives the statue a weathered appearance and creates the impression of age.

Originally sited on a low brick base, Market Woman was moved to the present location when the area was redeveloped in 1993;  its bronze integral base now stands on the ground. The statue was heavily criticised by the local community as a ‘blunt portrayal of a working class woman’ when it was first erected, but has become a feature of central Wallsend.

Sources: Historic England ; P. Usherwood et al., Public Sculpture of North-East England, Liverpool, 2000, p. 213; P. Upton, Hans Schwarz , Bristol, 2014, pp. 33 & 102.

Location: Pedestrian area, High Street junction with Station Road, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear.