Name: Samuel Johnson’s Abiding Relevance to a Contemporary Artist
Start: 2025-05-16T13:00:00+01:00
End: 2025-05-16T14:00:00+01:00
Location: Dr Johnson's House

$Samuel Johnson\u2019s Abiding Relevance to a Contemporary Artist$

Explore Johnson’s love of words through David Breuer-Weil’s sculptures, inspired by his Dictionary and Fleet Street’s literary history.
About this Event

Samuel Johnson’s Abiding Relevance to a Contemporary Artist

A talk as part of Fleet Street Quarter's Festival of Words

Johnson was in love with words and books. A Dictionary of the English Language, published in two large volumes, was a book of magisterial appearance as well as content.

David Breuer-Weil describes how words and books are important symbols in his art and how Johnson’s dictionary inspired a public sculpture, and other writers and journalists of the Fleet Street area prompted a series of sculptures of books and newspapers.

One of Johnson’s great characteristics is his combination of humour with moral seriousness, something that Breuer-Weil has explored in many public and private works of art over many years, for example Visitor V, currently installed in Park Lane, London and Reflection Soho, a permanent monumental bronze in Dean Street, Soho, an area associated with Johnson.

Accessibility / Requirements

Dr Johnson's House is not an accessible venue. Please let us know if you have any accessibility or dietary requirements.