 The temple 's interior was furnished as a shrine to Shakespeare . It was dominated by a statue of the playwright commissioned by Garrick from the French Huguenot sculptor Louis @-@ François Roubiliac at a cost of 300 guineas ( £ 315 , equivalent to approximately £ 32 @,@ 000 now ) . Roubiliac chose to model the statue on the Chandos portrait of Shakespeare while Garrick himself is said to have posed for the sculpture . Its appearance is rather more reminiscent of Garrick than Shakespeare ; it is said that the actor struck a pose and exclaimed , " Lo , the Bard of Avon ! " to illustrate how he wanted Shakespeare to be portrayed . The statue 's head was not to Garrick 's satisfaction , and Roubiliac had to replace it with another , carved from a different type of marble . During Garrick 's lifetime the statue was displayed in the temple . On his death it was willed to the British Museum , where it is still on display in the King 's Library . A copy of the statue , donated by the museum , is currently displayed in the temple . 
