Angel of the North is a modern sculpture created by Antony Gormley, which is located in Gateshead, England. As the name suggests, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, standing 20 metres tall, with wings 54 metres — making it wider than the Statue of Liberty's height. The wings themselves are not planar, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward, which he has been quoted as saying was to create "a sense of embrace".
It stands on a hill overlooking the A1 road and the A167 road into Tyneside and the East Coast Main Line rail route. In 1998, a Newcastle United football shirt was put on Angel of the North, which had a number 9 on the back, the same number as Alan Shearer's football shirt.
Work began on the project in 1994, the total cost coming to £1m. Most of the project funding was provided by the National Lottery. Due to its exposed location, the sculpture has to withstand winds of over 160 km/h. Thus, 150 metric tonnes of concrete were used to create foundations which anchor the sculpture to rock 20 metres below.
The sculpture itself was created offsite at Hartlepool Erections Ltd in three parts – with the body weighing 100 metric tonnes and two wings weighing 50 metric tonnes each – then brought to its site by road. It took seven hours for the body to be transported from its construction site in Hartlepool, CountyDurham, up the A19 to the site.
Construction work on the Angel was finished in 16 February 1998. Angel of the North aroused some controversy locally - with local councillor Martin Callanan especially vehement in his opposition - and in the British newspapers when first erected, but has now come to be considered as a landmark for the North East of England. It is sometimes referred to affectionately as "The Gateshead Flasher" or "Gabriel", although several other nicknames exist.
