Mythological beasts stalk the grounds of Houghton Hall – in a good way.
The stately home in Norfolk is presenting Stephen Cox: Myth, an absorbing new exhibition of the work of the British sculptor. Arranged across the park gardens and interiors, this is the most comprehensive retrospective ever of the Royal Academician’s sculpture.
Covering more than 40 years, Stephen Cox: Myth features work made all over the world, from India to Egypt, and from Italy to the UK. Renowned for his monumental work in stone and employing traditional techniques, the sculptor draws on an eclectic range of inspirations from every corner of the globe.
Around 20 sculptures in marble and stone are situated in the landscape and in the Stone Hall on the first floor of the mansion, which has been home to the Cholmondeley family since 1797.
Stephen Cox, Yoginis, 2000-10, Charnockite (basalt). Photo: Pete Huggins © Houghton Hall.
For instance, visitors approaching Houghton Hall, which was built for Britain’s first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, in the 1720s and is one of the country’s best exemplars of the Palladian style, are greeted by Gilgamesh & Enkidu. This mighty sculpture depicts the mythological Mesopotamian warriors in black Aswan granite (see lead image).
At the same time, Cox’s smaller works are placed in the State Rooms, where William Kent’s famously ornate decorations have altered little since they were first crafted in the early 18th century.
Lord Cholmondeley, owner of Houghton Hall, explains why these sculptures work so well in this setting. “The title of Stephen Cox’s exhibition at Houghton seems particularly fitting as so much of his work as an artist references the mythology and religions of ancient civilisations – especially Egypt and the Indian subcontinent – with their allegorical fables and anthropomorphic deities.
Stephen Cox, Dreadnought: Problems of History, the Search for the Hidden Stone, 2003, and Chrysalis, 1989-91, Imperial Porphyry, Stone Hall, Houghton Hall. Photo: Pete Huggins © Houghton Hall.
“An alchemy of enrichment seems to have occurred between Cox’s sculptures and William Kent’s sumptuous interiors, with their variegated marble tables and entablature, a subtle connection across the centuries that both Kent and his patron, Sir Robert Walpole, would surely have approved of.”
“Stephen Cox: Myth” exerts a potent hold, and visitors to the exhibition may well find themselves moved to agree with the writer Joseph Campbell’s observation that, “Mythology [is] the homeland of the Muses, the inspirer of art.”
Author: James Rampton
Stephen Cox: Myth
Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE31 6UE
Until Sunday 28 September 2025
More information and tickets, HERE.
Lead image: Stephen Cox, Gilgamesh & Enkidu, 2024, Black Aswan Granite. Photo: Pete Huggins © Houghton Hall.
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