Focus on this artwork and analyze the Statue.
The Gresley Society is a charitable organisation of around 500 members dedicated to the preservation and celebration of the work of Sir Nigel Gresley, a locomotive designer and chief mechanical engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).  Gresley oversaw the design and construction of 2,150 locomotives and tens of thousands of wagons and carriages; one of his locomotives, the Mallard, set the steam engine speed record in 1938, which stands to this day.   The Gresley Society received a £500,000 bequest from the estate of a member in 2012 and, after consulting its members, decided to fund a memorial to Gresley.  Originally this was to have been a bust but it was decided that a full-length statue would be more appropriate.  The Gresley Society sought donations to the project from the general public and a further £13,000 was raised from 130 contributors.Sculptor Hazel Reeves was commissioned to produce the statue, for the fee of £95,000.  Reeves used the traditional lost-wax casting method.  Citing Auguste Rodin's advice to sculptors to begin with a nude figure she first made a bare model of Gresley from clay (around an armature) to which she added his clothing.  This was moulded in resin, which was used to form a wax model for the bronze casting process.  The bronze statue was cast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.  From planning to erection the statue took 18 months.The completed work is around 7 feet (2.1 m) high, standing at some 120% of life-size.  Gresley is depicted standing with his right hand in his jacket pocket, possibly reaching for his pipe, and with his left hand holding a technical magazine.  Reeves stated that she intended her figure to be captured "in a moment of quizzical reflection" and "looking out towards the future".  The magazine is a copy of The Locomotive with the front cover showing the Mallard.The statue was unveiled on 5 April 2016, the 75th anniversary of Gresley's death, in a ceremony attended by Sir Peter Hendy, chairman of Network Rail, and Gresley's descendants.  It stands near to the booking office and just yards from the office that Gresley occupied during his time as chief mechanical engineer.  A plaque on the wall behind the statue outlines Gresley's career and names the Mallard and Flying Scotsman locomotives.  It also notes Gresley's links with King's Cross from which many of his trains ran.  The plaque names Reeves and notes that the sculpture was commissioned by the Gresley Society.
Hazel Reeves Mallard Nigel Gresley The Locomotive Peter Hendy Whitechapel Bell Foundry armature lost-wax casting Network Rail Auguste Rodin Flying Scotsman London and North Eastern Railway bust London