A Conversation With Oscar Wilde
sit down for a word with oscar
A reclining green sculpture near Charing Cross where Oscar Wilde rises from a coffin-like bench, cigarette in hand, ready to chat.
Free to visit · Charing Cross · Charing Cross · WC2N 4HG
Opening: Always open
On a busy corner by St Martin-in-the-Fields, Oscar Wilde lounges in green granite and bronze, his head and cigarette-holding hand emerging from a long coffin-shaped bench so that he seems to be rising for one last bit of conversation. The work, unveiled in 1998, is titled A Conversation with Oscar Wilde, and it invites you to sit down beside him.
Wilde's witty line, that we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars, is carved nearby. It is free, warm and a little subversive, a fittingly playful tribute to London's great wit, once disgraced and imprisoned, now affectionately memorialised in the heart of the city.
Getting there: On Adelaide Street beside St Martin-in-the-Fields, a minute from Charing Cross.
Best time to go: Any time, a quick free stop near Trafalgar Square.
Insider tip: Sit on the bench beside his rising head for the intended photo, it is designed to be used. Look for his famous quote about the gutter and the stars carved into the sculpture.
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide