The Scottish Widows Fund building in the City was built in 1934 to the designs of W. Curtis Green.
It features two statues of Scottish Widows by William McMillan, a Scottish sculptor who had the unusual distinction of designing some of the medals that he himself won for his service in the First World War. 
One of the Widows is the classic figure familiar from a gazillion TV ads, wearing a hood and holding a puir wee fatherless bairn. The other holds a cornucopia from which pours the largesse from a claim on a policy held with one of Britain's famously generous life assurance companies.In the pediment at the top, Bellerophon grabs Pegasus's forelock, a reference to the company motto 'Est Capilatta Fronte Post Est Occasio Calva' or 'Take Time by the Forelock'. McMillan made a version of this in bronze over the front door.
Famously generous, I'm sure. One correction: perhaps you are referring to Pegasus's forelock?
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, Your Grace. I read it through several times, too.
ReplyDeleteGlad to help. I must confess that I don't really understand that motto, though. There must be an explanation behind such a cryptic phrase...
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