Community Artist Loïs Cordelia has created a life-size horse statue referencing Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty for the Great Yarmouth Art Trail, launching next month. Here, Lois and Nicola Knight from Redwings Horse Sanctuary explain all
Work on installing Great Yarmouth’s exciting new sculpture trail has begun, with artist Loïs Cordelia’s life-size horse statue referencing Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty already installed opposite the novelist’s birthplace. The trail, which launches next month, will consist of ten sculptures – focusing on themes of maritime and medieval history, arts heritage, seaside, transport and energy, all designed to create a rich and involving experience for locals and visitors.
The pieces of art have been commissioned by Great Yarmouth Borough Council to create a major new cultural trail for the town. Loïs Cordelia’s artwork is inspired by Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, one of the bestselling books of all time and still popular as a children’s classic to this day. Completed in 1877, it tells the story of a horse named Black Beauty and is a pioneering example of literature written from the viewpoint of an animal. The author was born in 1820 in Great Yarmouth. When Anna was 14, she was injured in an accident which left her permanently unable to walk. As a result, she became dependent on horse-drawn transport which fostered a lifelong love and respect for horses. Black Beauty was her only novel, written between 1871 and 1877. During this time her health declined, and she was largely bedridden – her mother helped her write down the text as she dictated. Anna sold the book to local publishers Jarrold & Son, and it was an immediate success. She died five months after its publication but lived to see its initial success.
Loïs Cordelia describes the creative process: “Whilst researching for this project I visited Anna Sewell’s birthplace in Church Plain, Great Yarmouth now a museum run by volunteers from Redwings Horse Sanctuary. I was privileged to view numerous antique editions of the book alongside slides of the original illustrations. The museum is entirely run by volunteers, is open on Wednesdays and Fridays and is definitely worth a visit.
“Earlier in 2024 I painted a miniature version of the design onto a scale model of the horse which was so small I needed a magnifying glass – quite a contrast with the full-size fibreglass horse which was supplied by Horn Imports.”
In September 2024, Loïs Cordelia painted live in public in Great Yarmouth market Place. “Naturally my colour palette was limited, mostly black and white, with subtle touches colours where appropriate. I mapped out the main features of the design using a kitchen sponge for a soft, atmospheric texture. Gradually the human and equine portraits took shape, partly based on historical reference photos. Working live in the busy Market Place meant I was surrounded by visitors the whole time I was there. People took more and more interest as the artwork unfolded over a period of four days.”
On Friday, the piece was installed opposite Anna Sewell House. Nicola Knight is Head of Communications at Redwings, the largest horse charity in the UK, looking after 1300 rescued horses, ponies, donkeys and mules. She explains the significance of Black Beauty: “Anna Sewell’s legacy for animal welfare is absolutely incredible. A couple of years ago Redwings was asked to take on the birthplace of Anna Sewell in Great Yarmouth which is known as Anna Sewell House. We’ve opened it to visitors, and they can come along and find out a little bit more about her work, her amazing book and everything that she did for animal welfare.
“Black beauty wasn’t the only book ever written from the point of view of a horse, but it’s certainly been the most successful. It was written in the first person with incredible empathy, and it sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. It has never been out of print in 150 years and it was written in a way that everyone could understand, so all horse owners from all backgrounds, and we believe it to be directly responsible for the stopping of the use of something called the bearing rein which is a very cruel piece of tack that used to hold the horse’s head up in the air at a very cruel angle. We actually saw that dropping out of use after the publication and success of the book.”
She adds: “We are so excited about the new art trail I think it’s going to be absolutely incredible and Loïs’s Black Beauty statue is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen really, and I cannot wait for that to be central to it all and I think it’s going to be really great for Great Yarmouth.”
The Great Yarmouth Art Trail launches in June 2025. The sculptures will provide an outdoor gallery and circular walking route from the Market Place to the seafront, taking in St George’s Road and park, Regent Road and Church Plain. Follow Great Yarmouth Borough Council on Facebook for updates. Also, visit Lois Cordelia and Anna Sewell House – Redwings Horse Sanctuary, and watch Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty – for Great Yarmouth Heritage Trail and ‘Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty’ installation, Great Yarmouth on YouTube.
Featured image (left to right): Loïs Cordelia, Jennie Roberts (Redwings), and Nicola Knight (Redwings).
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