Virginia King's Katherine Mansfield monument, ‘Woman of Words’ (2013), is an outstanding work in the history of New Zealand sculpture and a unique work in the history of art. It is the only figurative work to have been commissioned by the Wellington Sculpture Trust, the only public sculpture of a female figure by a New Zealand sculptor, and the only statue of Katherine Mansfield in the world. What is more, this 3.4-metre figure is an exceptional work of art. One can almost hear the swish of Mansfield's skirts as she strides out of Midland Park, heading down to Lambton Quay. Even more distinctive is the form. In this work, Katherine Mansfield is literally a ‘woman of words’. Her dress, hair and ribbon are all formed in text – single words, lines and passages from Mansfield's writings. Sweeping around the hem of her skirt trails the text ‘do you know the heron has got beautiful blue legs?’ Across the back of her head are shopping lists taken from her diaries. The ribbon that swirls off her arm sends a message to Middleton Murry.

This imposing figure was commissioned early in 2012 as the result of a closed-call competition in which nine artists were invited to submit concepts for a monument to Katherine Mansfield. The brief was exacting. The work had to be accessible to the public and resonate with its audience, and be educative and, if possible, interactive. Most importantly, the sculpture needed to be a monument that celebrated the life of Katherine Mansfield, rather than being a memorial to her. It should honour Mansfield's literary heritage, affirming her aspiration to be seen as ‘a writer first and a woman after’. In response, sculptor Virginia King decided to create a work in the figurative form of a woman cloaked in phrases selected from Mansfield's writing. She focused specifically on Mansfield's references to New Zealand, aiming to present a balanced selection that would inform the public and convey the writer's humour, insight and perception.

Wrapped in her writing and defined by her own words, here in ‘Woman of Words’ Katherine Mansfield presents a mask-like face to the world. This references the line in her letter to Sylvia Payne, ‘don't lower your mask unless you have another mask prepared beneath – as terrible as you like – but a mask.’