Celebrated sculpture of seated man moved out of North York Moors for being ‘too popular’

Sean Henry’s Seated Figure has been a North York Moors attraction since 2016, but its popularity has now proven its undoing

Tourists visit Sean Henry's Seated Figure on the North York Moors in 2017 (Owen Humphreys/PA Archive/PA Images)

A celebrated three-metre-tall sculpture beloved by locals and tourists has been deemed “too popular” to stay in its current location on the North York Moors, and will therefore be moved to an open-air gallery near Wakefield.

Sean Henry’s Seated Figure is a bronze sculpture of an unknown man sitting on a three-legged stool with his travel bag resting on his lap, and has been a popular tourist attraction since it was erected on the North York Moors in 2016.

But it has now been moved, after local authorities expressed concern that the sculpture’s location was inadvertently responsible for large amounts of litter dumped by visitors nearby, along with an abundance of cars parked on the verge next to the figure.

The sculpture has now been moved to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, an open-air gallery in West Bretton near Wakefield.

Clare Lilley, director of programme at the park, told The Guardian that they are overjoyed at the arrival of Henry’s work. “We are used to caring for sculpture within the landscape and the challenges of significant visitor numbers,” she said. “We hope that many more people will be able to see the sculpture in its new location.”