Corrosion resistant and easier to cast than bronze, aluminum is an ideal medium for outdoor sculpture. By the 1890s, when the electrolytic process of extracting aluminum assured its affordable and ready supply, aluminum became an ideal medium for sculpture. The first aluminum public sculpture, Eros (1893), part of the Shaftesbury Memorial in Piccadilly Circus, London, was designed by Sir Alfred Gilbert.

Sir Alfred Gilbert, designer, British, 1854–1934
Cast by George Mancini (b. 1903) at Morris Singer Foundry, British, 1848–present
Eros, 1985 cast of original (1893) on the Shaftesbury Memorial, Piccadilly Circus
aluminum, 94 x 48 x 60 in. (238.8 x 121.9 x 152.4 cm)
The Fine Art Society plc, London