Lynn Chadwick

Estate of the artist
Anne Jaffe (Gallery 99), Bay Harbor Islands, Florida (acquired from the above in 1987)
James Goodman Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above

Masters of Modern British Art (exhibition catalogue), Odette Gilbert Gallery, London, 1986, illustration of another cast n.p. (male figure only)
Dennis Farr & Eva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-1988, Oxford, 1990, no. 658S, illustration of another cast p. 261
Dennis Farr & Eva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick: Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-1996, Oxford, 1997, no. 658S, illustration of another cast p. 280
Dennis Farr & Eva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2005, Aldershot & Burlington, 2006, no. 658S, illustration of another cast p. 289
Dennis Farr & Eva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2005, Farnham, 2014, no. 658S, illustration of another cast p. 296

Work is in very good condition. Dark brown patina with polished faces. There are some minor accretions in crevices. A few small nicks and surface stains. Otherwise fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Motion amidst stagnation was of primary interest to Chadwick, who combatted statis with geometry in order to create tension. Even for seemingly inert subjects, such as the present work, Chadwick imbued movement with the slight bend of the woman’s leg and the torso of the man that is tilting at a different angle than his head. Collette Chattopadhay writes of the lyrical potency of the artist's works from this period: "A new fondness for naturalism begins to appear in Chadwick's work which endows his geometric figures with a startling anthropomorphic credibility. The angle at which a geometric head tilts, or the manner in which a cubic torso leans forward or sideways, imbues these robotic creatures with an uncanny familiarity. Indeed, Chadwick's propensity for infusing cubic figures with ironic, anthropomorphic allusions remains one of his supreme artistic accomplishments, vying with and at times surpassing Picasso's explorations in these areas... Exploring the relation between stasis and movement, solid form and space, Chadwick's late works…continue to explore the nature of collective social identity while manifesting affection for the female torso, which is increasingly naturalistically portrayed" (Collette Chattopadhay, Lynn Chadwick (exhibition catalogue), Tasende Gallery, Los Angeles, 2002, p. 7) Seated figures particularly characterize Chadwick’s later output. Symbolizing enduring love between man and woman, the execution of this evocative motif is symptomatic of Chadwick’s total output. In the 1970s, Chadwick conceived of a simple yet striking distinction between his male and female figures. Men were depicted with rectangular heads while women were endowed with triangular ones. Though these figures are faceless, they possess undeniably expressive personalities. Chadwick explained the need for his work to possess “attitude” and that the best way to bestow this quality was by “the way that you make something talk by the way the neck is bent, or the attitude of the head; you can actually make these sculptures talk, they say something according to the exact balance, whereas if they’re absolutely straight…well, I suppose that is saying something too” (quoted in Eva Chadwick, op. cit., p. 13).



Eva Chadwick has kindly confirmed that this cast is recorded in the artist’s archives.