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Lynn Chadwick R.A. (British, 1914-2003) Maquette for Who 38.5 cm. (15 1/8 in.) high Conceived in 1961 (Unique) image 1

Lynn Chadwick R.A. (British, 1914-2003) Maquette for Who 38.5 cm. (15 1/8 in.) high Conceived in 1961 (Unique) image 2

Lynn Chadwick R.A. (British, 1914-2003) Maquette for Who 38.5 cm. (15 1/8 in.) high Conceived in 1961 (Unique) image 3

Lynn Chadwick R.A. (British, 1914-2003) Maquette for Who 38.5 cm. (15 1/8 in.) high Conceived in 1961 (Unique) image 4

Lynn Chadwick R.A. (British, 1914-2003) Maquette for Who 38.5 cm. (15 1/8 in.) high Conceived in 1961 (Unique) image 5

Lot 59^AR

Lynn Chadwick R.A.
(British, 1914-2003)
Maquette for Who 38.5 cm. (15 1/8 in.) high Conceived in 1961

Modern British and Irish Art

30 June 2021, 14:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £56,500 inc. premium

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Penny Day

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Christopher Dawson

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Lynn Chadwick R.A. (British, 1914-2003)

Maquette for Who
welded iron and composition
38.5 cm. (15 1/8 in.) high
Conceived in 1961
Unique

Footnotes

Provenance
The Artist, from whom acquired by the present owner, 30 May 1965
Private Collection, U.K.

Exhibited
London, Marlborough Fine Art, Lynn Chadwick, November-December 1961

Literature
Dennis Farr & Éva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick, Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-1996, Lypiatt Studio, Stroud, 1997, p.170, cat.no.344 (ill.b&w, a cast from the bronze edition)
Dennis Farr & Éva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick, Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2005, Lund Humphries, Aldershot, 2006, p.178, cat.no.344 (ill.b&w, a cast from the bronze edition)
Dennis Farr & Éva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2003, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2014, p.193, cat.no.344 (ill.b&w, a cast from the bronze edition)

In 1952, Sir Herbert Read coined the phrase 'Geometry of Fear' to describe a group of sculptors working in a shared aesthetic to include Chadwick alongside the likes of William Turnbull, Eduardo Paolozzi, Reg Butler and Kenneth Armitage. Their forms were spiky, alien-like and Read felt reflected the anxieties of that post-war period.

Maquette for Who, although conceived circa 1961, retains some of these elements such as the spindly legs and welded iron execution. This unique work later led to a small, bronze edition of four, none of which have ever previously been offered for sale on the open market, making the present example a rare opportunity for collectors.

Whilst sharing some characteristics with the 'Watcher' series of the same period, Chadwick's 'Who' has evolved from three legs to two and the head has become less blocky and more elongated, thereby humanising the figure further. The organic surface texture of composition and metal rods is highly worked and allows the viewer to experience the artist's original workings in a way that bronze does not permit.

The present work is accompanied with exceptional provenance having been acquired directly from the artist by the present owner, his former studio assistant, and remaining in the same private collection ever since.

We are grateful to the Artist's Estate for their assistance in cataloguing this lot.

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