Looking back: Marching Hippos in Glenrothes
Stanley Bonnar arrived in Glenrothes as young art graduate in 1972 and within weeks had designed a piece of public art that has, 40 years later, become a lasting and cherished symbol of the town
Along with Benno Schotz’s Ex Terra (1965) and Malcolm Robertson’s Giant Irises (1986), Bonnar’s hippos are not only loved by the Glenrothes community, they have become synonymous with Glenrothes Development Corporation’s (GDC) pioneering approach to public art.
It was town artist David Harding’s idea in 1976 to position the second set of hippos (pictured) as if walking staight out of the nearby River Leven within the town park area.