A STATUE of trailblazing 19th century doctor, Dr. Elsie Maud Inglis, is being objected to by many locals who believe that she isn’t being depicted correctly.
The doctor is famous for helping considerable numbers of women in Edinburgh through founding a maternity hospital on the Royal Mile, and for creating women’s medical units in France during the First World War.
The statue proposed has been under attack as it is set to be created by a man, Alexander Stoddart, rather than a female artist.
Edinburgh-based sculptor Natasha Ingram-Phoenix is campaigning against the statue, calling for the piece to be made “through the female gaze” and for it to acknowledge her work in maternity care rather than in the war.
On a community group with over 800 members titled “Elsie on the Mile – we choose a breastfeeding mother with Elsie statue”, Natasha has called for people to object to the “outrageous insult to women”.
The statue’s planning application states that its vision “is to erect a lasting testimonial to a deserving subject.
“The proposed location on the Royal Mile is adjacent to the women’s hospital pioneered by Dr Elsie Inglis and is a prestigious location for an important historical figure, sitting in relation to other notable monuments and respecting the composition of the landmark street.”
In 2017, Lord Provost Frank Ross began fundraising for the public statue, with the report saying, “no expense is to be spared”.
In July 2022, a charity called “A Statue for Elsie Inglis” sent out a call to artists, proposing that one would be selected to create the sculpture.
Two months later, the call was “suspended indefinitely” and it was later announced that the King’s Sculpture in Ordinary, Alexander Stoddart, had been selected for the commission, bypassing the competition process.
Natasha states that this was “after artists had invested time and money in preparing their submissions” and that it resulted in some donors requesting their money back as it was not being spent in line with their expectations.
Now, objections have been made to the statue, as it does not seem to acknowledge Dr. Elsie Inglis’ contributions to maternity care in Scotland and afar, with Natasha saying: “It would be refreshing to see Elsie celebrated as the caring, life-delivering feminist she was, and not as another war hero.”
“If planning permission is approved, and the proposed statue goes ahead, two men who have demonstrated contempt for rules, laws, artists, the public, and the press, will be creating a monument that tells Edinburgh’s girls ‘you can be worthy of recognition if you dedicate yourself to the service of men’.
“And this monument will be sited outside the hospital where this feminist icon led a team of all-female doctors, providing outstanding healthcare to women and their children.”
The group is considering suggesting a statue of a breastfeeding mother to stand alongside Dr Inglis, to portray the work she did in aiding pregnant women.
Yesterday, members of the group delivered letters to locals and businesses on the Royal Mile, asking them to object to the proposal.
Next week, Natasha will be speaking alongside Dr Lynn McNair OBE, a senior teaching fellow at the University of Edinburgh, on “the outrageous injustice that this statue has created”.
