An artist has criticised Nottingham City Council after her sculpture was removed from the city centre without her knowledge and was not retained.
The Chorus Line, created by Nottinghamshire sculptor Hilary Cartmel, stood at the corner of Park Row and Maid Marian Way until it was taken down in 2024 ahead of changes to the road layout.
Commissioned by the council in 1999, the steel artwork featured four dancing figures whose limbs pointed towards Nottingham Playhouse and the Theatre Royal.
The sculpture was not reinstated when the Maid Marian Way project was completed in 2025. The council has since confirmed it was not retained.
Hilary Cartmel: “I wasn’t aware that Chorus Line had been removed. The council, that’s the people of Nottingham, who own it, had not thought to inform me.
“It has been on the street for 27 years and was in need of repainting, and had been for a number of years.
“Anything left in the public arena, especially by a busy road, deteriorates if it’s not cared for, and this lack of upkeep speaks loudly.”
Ms Cartmel said she was not surprised that the artwork had been removed but believed the council should have contacted her.
She added: “It would have been a courtesy to do this, and easy enough to contact a living artist who still lives in the county. This lack of manners and thoughtful behaviour towards others is of our times, unfortunately.”
The disappearance was noticed by Nottingham Women’s History Group, which has been tracking public artworks depicting women or created by female artists.
Its chair, Sian Trafford, said the group was “surprised and dismayed” that the sculpture had not been moved elsewhere, as had happened with other city artworks.
She said: “We are equally surprised that it seems Nottingham City Council did not have the courtesy to inform Hilary Cartmel that her work was going to be permanently removed.
“Naturally, we are very disappointed at the loss of a public artwork, even more so as it was the work of a woman artist.”
A new sculpture of Maid Marian was unveiled at the junction of Tollhouse Hill and Upper Parliament Street in July. It depicts the legendary figure in bronze branches and wax leaves inspired by Sherwood Forest.
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “This statue was removed with the intention of it being replaced by the new commissioned artwork of Maid Marian, which was unveiled a few weeks ago.
“It hasn’t been retained as it wasn’t part of the plans to reintroduce it once the works were complete.”
By Joseph Connolly, Local Democracy Reporter