Icon’s sculpture is ridiculed by his own family… can YOU guess who it is meant to be?

A sculpture of a nineteenth century icon has been condemned as ‘absolutely hideous’ by their grandson. 

The model of famous playwright Oscar Wilde is to be unveiled on Dovehouse Green, south-west London, near the writer’s former home. 

Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland, an expert on his relative’s life and works, has ridiculed the bronze sculpture by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, branding it ‘unacceptable’. 

‘I’m all for any sort of innovations in modern art. But this does seem to me to be unacceptable. It looks absolutely hideous,’ he told the Observer.

Mr Holland added that the sculpture looks nothing like Wilde and does not portray the brilliance of one of the greatest playwrights in English literary history.

Oscar Wilde, who wrote The Importance of Being Earnest, died in poverty in 1900, aged 46 

Wilde’s death followed one of the most famous trials in British history and his imprisonment for homosexuality

Wilde is one of the most famous playwright’s in English literary history 

Wilde, who wrote The Importance of Being Earnest, died in poverty in 1900, aged 46. 

His death followed one of the most famous trials in British history and his imprisonment for homosexuality. 

Paolozzi, the British sculpture who passed away in 2005, is famous for his 1986 mosaics at Tottenham Court Road tube station and his 1995 bronze of Sir Isaac Newton next to the British Library. 

The sculptor submitted a design of the model to a committee in 1995. His argument was that the sculpture of Wilde should be conceptual, rather than representational. But the sculpture was rejected and a different model was selected. 

The Paolozzi Foundation said in a statement: ‘The foundation takes the view that everyone is entitled to their opinion, including Oscar Wilde’s grandson. We also note that the Oscar Wilde Society is fully supportive.’