'Gorilla' by David Wynne

In Crystal Palace Park, beside the Lower Lake, stands a wonderful statue of a Gorilla, by David Wynne. The gorilla is shown on all fours as a way to convey the powerful majesty of the animal.

In 1959, London County Council, through its Patronage of the Arts scheme, commissioned David Wynne to create a large animal sculpture, to go with the spirit of the dinosaur and extinct species statues already in the park

Having studied zoology at the University of Cambridge, David Wynne chose 'Guy the Gorilla' as his subject. 

The sculpture was completed, in 1961, and unveiled near the Children's Zoo in 1962. The statue is still in place, even though the Children's Zoo closed in 1990.

The statue is made of polished black fossiliferous Belgian marble on a marble base atop a roughly polished granite plinth. The statue stands 3 ft 11 in (1,2 m) in height. The base bears the artist's name and date, while the word 'GORILLA' is carved into the plinth.

The sculpture was given Grade II listed status, in 2016.

'Guy the Gorilla' was a western lowland gorilla, born in 1946. He was captured in 1947 and brought to London Zoo on November 5, 1947. As this was Guy Fawkes Day, he was dubbed 'Guy'.

'Guy' became an instant hit, bringing in the crowds with his gentle disposition. 

'Guy' died of a heart attack, in 1978, while undergoing surgery. Following his death his remains were donated to the Natural History Museum, where taxidermists prepared him for display in the Hintze Hall.