---
title: "Statue"
description: "A sculpted figure (usually a person or animal, typically life-size or larger) most often made to honor or commemorate its subject."
glossary: "https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary"
source: "https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/statue"
---

# Statue

> A sculpted figure (usually a person or animal, typically life-size or larger) most often made to honor or commemorate its subject.

Glossary: https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary  
Source: https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/statue

Statue versus sculpture, settled: every statue is a sculpture, but a
sculpture is a statue only when it depicts a figure. Abstract work is never
a statue, however monumental.

The word carries commemorative baggage (the figure on the plinth, chosen by
somebody to be looked up at), which is exactly why contemporary programs
rarely commission statues outside memorial contexts, and why the statues a
city already owns generate most of its public art controversies. Knowing
the term's weight helps in public communication: calling a contested
commemorative figure "a sculpture" reads as evasive, and audiences notice.

Related terms: [Sculpture](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/sculpture), [Monument](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/monument), [Memorial](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/memorial)

## Mentioned in

- [Ten Ideas for Your Next Public Art Tour](https://www.civiccollection.com/blog/ten-ideas-for-your-next-public-art-tour)
- [Why the Map Comes First](https://www.civiccollection.com/blog/why-a-map-first-guide)