Statue Known As Ghost Or Descent From The Cross Immediately To The South Of Campion House (Formerly Thornbury House)

The statue, known as "Ghost or Descent from the Cross," was created by Andrew O'Connor in 1937. It is located immediately to the south of Campion House (formerly Thornbury House) in Osterley. This group of figures is made of Portland stone, emerging from a block of rough limestone. It depicts a central figure representing Christ being supported by two flanking mourners, one male and one female. The artwork demonstrates a strong influence from Auguste Rodin, a friend and mentor to O’Connor, whom he met in Paris after 1905.

The sculpture was originally lent to the Tate Gallery for the opening of its Duveen Sculpture gallery in 1937, but was requested for return to Ireland in 1940 and subsequently transferred to the Jesuit community at Campion House in 1953. Andrew O'Connor, an American artist of Irish and Scottish descent born in Worcester, Massachusetts, was initially trained by his father and later studied in London under John Singer Sargent. He was significantly impacted by Rodin’s work, which he encountered while living in Paris.

O'Connor created numerous public sculptures in both the United States and elsewhere, including a bas-relief mural for the Boston Library, bronze doors for St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York, an equestrian figure of General Lafayette in Baltimore, a bust of Lincoln at the Royal Exchange in London, and the Triple Cross in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. This sculpture is notable as a late example of figurative religious art, but its outdoor position is contributing to its deterioration.