A landscape proposal for the siting of G F Watts’ Physical Energy sculpture as a major piece of public art on the A3 beside the turning point to Compton, home of the Watts Gallery Artists’ Village. To mark the bicentenary of the birth of George Frederic Watts, OM, RA (1871 – 1904), Watts Gallery Trust commissioned a new bronze cast of the artist’s renowned public sculpture, currently on display at the Royal Academy of Arts. The new cast is to be sited on the hillside adjoining the A3, on the edge of the Artists’ Village founded by G F and Mary Watts in 1890 in Compton. Physical Energy will be the first public art installation on this major route through the county.

The site lies within the Surrey Hills AONB and comprises a series of listed buildings which form the Artists’ Village. Extensive liaison and coordination with Highways England, Surrey County Council, Guildford Borough Council, Watts Gallery Trust and the design team has taken the scheme through the complex planning process and onto site.