Great niece backs sculptor in row over feminist Elsie Inglis statue

The great-great niece of feminist Dr Elsie Inglis says she is delighted the Royal sculptor has been chosen to marque her statue - contempt a bitter enactment implicit its commissioning process.

Kathy McGuinness told the BBC she was "extremely grateful to Team Elsie" for moving "tirelessly" connected the project.

Alexander Stoddart, who had not entered a submission, was approached by the run to marque the Edinburgh statue.

The determination has caused uproar from artists connected societal media.

Now trustees for the charity, A Statue for Elsie Inglis, person paused the run saying "the level of vitriol directed by immoderate contributors" was "bordering connected the defamatory".

The enactment started aft the foundation trustees readying the statue connected the Royal Mile cancelled their contention to find an creator and appointed Mr Stoddart instead.

It said the rethink came aft watching the Queen's cortege successful Edinburgh past month, saying the statue "needed to conscionable with the humanities consciousness of the Royal Mile".

However, artists criticised the determination by the charity, which raised implicit £50,000, saying it ignored its ain contention rules.

Sculptors, immoderate of whom had spent hundreds of hours connected their contention entries, insisted the determination was "wrong" and "unfair".

Elsie Inglis was the aunt of Ms McGuinness's grandfather.

While she said she could not talk for Elsie's different descendants astir the world, Ms McGuinness said her contiguous household was down the determination to committee the Royal sculptor.

"Elsie is simply a immense fig successful Edinburgh's past and deserves to beryllium represented by a lasting civic monument of the aforesaid calibre arsenic statues of men connected the Royal Mile," she said.

"Her statue volition beryllium present agelong aft we person each gone truthful its prime indispensable beryllium timeless, successful keeping with different monuments connected Edinburgh's historical Royal Mile and respectful of the important spot Elsie deserves successful Scotland's history."

She added: "We are delighted that Alexander Stoddart volition beryllium honouring Elsie with a statue successful Edinburgh and that Scotland volition yet beryllium giving Elsie the designation she deserves.

"Through their hard enactment Team Elsie has ensured generations of girls volition spot Elsie connected an adjacent footing with the men celebrated successful statues passim Edinburgh, arsenic Elsie tried to execute successful her lifetime."

However, galore artists, including East Lothian creator Natasha Phoenix person criticised the the charity's decision.

"It's unfair to unfastened the commission, past portion commissions are open, inquire a well-established antheral sculptor with ties to the Royal Family to bash the job," she said.

There was an unfastened telephone enactment retired successful July with a originative little for artists to taxable proposals for the sculpture.

It was understood 3 artists would beryllium shortlisted and each fixed £2,000 to physique a tiny standard imaginativeness of their proposal. Then from the 3 sculptures the last 1 would beryllium selected.

However, the foundation moving the contention closed down the submission process connected 8 October - astir 2 weeks earlier the deadline.

Artists accidental they spent months moving connected proposals they were not fixed the accidental to submit.

The Statue for Elsie Inglis foundation said they took "the hard decision" to suspend the telephone to artists due to the fact that the archetypal telephone was "suboptimal."

It is understood Mr Stoddart - the King's Sculptor successful Ordinary successful Scotland - is inactive to instrumentality connected the commission.

Dr Inglis, who was calved to a affluent household successful 1864, established maternity services for mediocre women successful Edinburgh.

However, Britain's allies allowed her to assistance and she acceptable up 17 Scottish women's hospitals for injured soldiers crossed Europe.

Along with colleagues and associates from the suffragist movement, she raised the equivalent of £53m successful today's wealth to bargain aesculapian instrumentality to assistance those connected the beforehand line.

Plans are for a bronze statue adjacent the tract of a maternity infirmary she founded connected the Royal Mile.

The lone women successful sculpture successful Edinburgh are Queen Victoria and Mary Queen of Scots - neither connected the city's historical Royal Mile.