Angel of the North

The Angel of the North is a sculpture by Antony Gormley, completed on 15 February 1998 in Lamesley, Gateshead, in North East England, near the A1 road and the East Coast Main Line. Built from COR-TEN weathering steel, which oxidizes to a rust-colored surface, the figure stands about 20 metres tall with a wingspan of 54 metres, and is seen by an estimated 33 million people a year owing to its position beside major transport routes. Gormley has described it as a symbol of hope rather than of religion, marking the region's shift from an industrial past toward an information-based future, and it is widely considered the best known public artwork in the United Kingdom.