"He emanated grace": Bobby Moore's daughter on her father and creating a "beautiful, significant" artwork to celebrate the 1966 World Cup

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of England's World Cup win this Saturday, Bobby Moore's daughter, Roberta, has commissioned a sculpture of the former England captain by renowned Georgiana Anstruther. It aims, she says, to reflect the Captain's aura

“We were really good friends as well as being father and daughter. To me, he was not Bobby Moore the footballer.

He was my father. I was a real daddy’s girl and we spent a lot of time together.

He had a very positive and upbeat take on life. He was a very elegant man both on and off the pitch. He emanated grace.

I’m fortunate that I could work with somebody like Georgiana, who really took it to heart, as I did.

Having worked with her and seen first-hand her enormous talent and exquisite work, I knew that together we would achieve something of which he and I would both be proud.

I knew she would create the right work for me with the feeling behind it.

He always conducted himself with great humility and I think it’s very hard to find the right medium that can convey that, so to me it had to be a piece of sculpture, it had to be 3-D.

I wanted to mark the occasion with a beautiful, significant piece of art.

I wanted to do something very much from my heart to my dad, and in a way give something back to him and make him proud.

He was a steady person and he was considerate and he was kind.

You can’t just put all of that into a statue but you can capture it in a way by making something very beautiful.

I think this piece shows his gentleness, his grace, his elegance – and I hope that’s what other people take away from it too.”

• On display at Wembley Stadium from July 29 – August 22 2016. Six sculptures are on sale in aid of the Moore Family Foundation. Visit robertamoore.co.uk.

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Bobby Moore's worn 1970 shirt from "the real World Cup final" against Brazil

I Scored a Goal in the World Cup Final: Jairzinho

A History of the World Cup in 24 Objects: David Goldblatt on an 1872 England shirt

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/art559226-bobby-moore-world-cup-1966-sculpture