Would you Adam and Eve it? Rodin sculpture one of first on new national art list

A statue of Eve by Auguste Rodin that sits outside a Nando's restaurant inHarlow is one of the first to be included in a new database of publicly owned sculptures in the UK.

Charitable organisation Art UK is working on what they say is the largestsculpture cataloguing project ever undertaken in the UK.

They endeavour to have listed an estimated 150,000 pieces online by 2020.

"This project will enable a global online audience to learn about the UK'sextraordinary collection of sculpture - held both inside institutions and in ourstreets and squares.

The total cost of the project is expected to be £3.8 million, with £2.8 millionof that provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the other £1m raised from donors including Arts Council England and the Scottish Government.

Also featured is a bronze by Jacob Epstein which is part of the Southend Museum collection.

The images of the first thousand sculptures, along with their associated digital records, are now available to view online free of charge on theorganisation's website.

Art UK says that, by the time the database is complete,

Their mission is to showcase the thousands of sculptures across the country, which are situated inside galleries, museums and public buildings and outdoorsin parks, streets and squares.<The initiative follows their effort to make 200,000 publicly owned oilpaintings available online.

French sculptor Rodin's 1882 bronze statue depicting Eve is currently situated in Harlow, Essex, next to a shopping centre, a car park, and a branch of chicken restaurant Nando's.

The biblical statue was originally planned to form part of Rodin's laboriousGates Of Hell project in Paris but the artist did not manage to complete itbefore his death in 1917.

The sculpture became a Harlow landmark in 1963, when it was placed in the WaterGardens area after being purchased by art curator Sir Philip Hendy, who acquired it from Paris's Musee Rodin for £2,360 in 1959.

"This project will enable a global online audience to learn about the UK'sextraordinary collection of sculpture - held both inside institutions and in ourstreets and squares."