The Naked Ladies

51°26′48.30″N 0°19′26.50″W / 51.4467500°N 0.3240278°W / 51.4467500; -0.3240278

The Naked Ladies are a Grade II listed statue complex on a rockery and water cascade in the gardens of York House, Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The larger than human size statues depict eight Oceanids and a pair of aquatic horses. They were carved in the fin de siècle style from white Carrara marble and probably came from Italy in the late nineteenth century or very early twentieth century. Originally they were part of a larger set of statues that was subdivided after the death of the initial purchaser.

After a somewhat unpromising start, they were installed in their current location without the benefit of the original design for their display. The statues spent several years as the backdrop for some of London's grandest garden parties. They subsequently passed by default into public ownership, and suffered some vandalism, but have been restored and remain to this day on view in the corner of a municipal garden.

The statues are of Italian design, and come from Carrara. They are of a monumental scale with several of the individual blocks weighing over 5 long tons (5 t).

The sculptures were acquired during the disposal of the property of the original owner after his death. Due to the unusual circumstances of their acquisition they had become separated from any instructions as to their intended layout, and also from at least one other group of statues in what was originally intended to be a larger statue complex or complexes.

The rockery was designed and the whole complex installed by the British company of J Cheal & Sons who had to make their own interpretation as to the intended layout of the statues. Though they were able to incorporate all the statues into one tableau, their interpretation of the sculptor's intended design has led to comments about the unusual poses of some of the statues, especially when viewed from the side.

Originally some of the ladies were holding pearls, but much of this detail has now been lost. There have been various theories as to the intended subject matter, with Pearl Fishers, Pegasus, Naiads and the birth of Venus all having been suggested in addition to the usual attribution as Oceanids. For want of anything more official, they have become known as The Naked Ladies.

The complex is in the gardens of York House by the banks of the River Thames. The gardens have been laid out in an Italian style to give unrestricted frontal views of the statue complex from the entire width of the gardens. The statues are set in a rockery behind a pond, with trees and security fencing restricting side and rear views.