Lynn Chadwick was born in London in 1914. After taking his School Certificate at the Merchant Taylors' School, he stayed on to study drawing, watercolour and oil painting. He was then sent to Vouvray to study French. From 1933 to 1939, he worked as an architectural draughtsman in London, subsequently spending some time as a farm labourer before volunteering for the Fleet Air Arm and gaining a commission (1941-44).
After the war, he worked producing textile, furniture and architectural designs. His first mobile sculpture, constructed from aluminum and balsa wood, was shown at a Building Trades Exhibition in 1947. He began to make sculpture and had the first of many solo exhibitions worldwide at Gimpel Fils in London in 1950. In 1953 he was one of the twelve semi-finalists in the “Unknown Political Prisoner” International Sculpture Competition, for which he was awarded an honourable mention and prize. By 1956 his reputation as a sculptor was confirmed internationally when he won the International Prize for Sculpture at the XXVIII Venice Biennale. More prizes and accolades followed as his career developed, including being awarded a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 1964.
During the 1950s he was prominent among the group of metal sculptors following in the steps of Henry Moore whose works, although largely abstract, carried suggestions of the human figure. Notable among Chadwick’s work at this time is The Watchers, a bronze cast from a reinforced plaster modeled upon a rigid framework. In the 1960s his work became more block-like and monumental, designed to be seen in the open.
Chadwick’s approach to sculpture was constructive and additive, rather than subtractive modelling. He first made a linear armature or skeleton onto which he applied a skin, building up the surface to a solid form. Earlier works featured a textured finish, but his later pieces have a smoother, more refined surface, and geometry replaced more organic form. His subject matter ranged from the human form, abstracted but readily recognised, to animals - general types rather than specific creatures.
Chadwick created a permanent exhibition of his work at his Gloucestershire home, Lypiatt Park, close to the foundry that cast most of his work, from monumental bronzes to miniatures in silver. During 1980s and 1990s, his work was the subject major exhibitions in Paris, London, New York and Tokyo.
He is represented in public collections in the USA, Europe and Australia as well as in the Tate Gallery, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Arts Council Collection of Great Britain.
Lynn Chadwick passed away after a lengthy illness in 2003.
EXHIBITIONS
2007
Lynn Chadwick: Prints and Maquettes
Gallery Pangolin, Gloucestershire (solo)
2006
Beaux Arts, London (solo)
Osborne Samuel, London (solo)
2005
Celebrating Chadwick,
The Museum in the Park,
Gloucestershire (solo)
2004
Canary Wharf, Osborne Samuel Gallery,
London (solo)
Lynn Chadwick 1914 - 2003, Dexia, Luxembourg,
curated by Gallery Pangolin (solo)
2003
Coming from the Dark, Gallery Pangolin, Gloucestershire (solo)
Tate Britain, Duveen Galleries, London (solo)
2002
Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Palm Desert (solo)
Tasende Gallery, Los Angeles, California (solo)
2001
Beaux Arts, London (solo)
JGM Galerie, Paris (solo)
1999
Beaux Arts, London (solo)
1996
Gimpel Fils and Berkeley Square Gallery,
London (solo)
Symbols for ’51, The Royal Festival Hall, London
Les Champs de la Sculpture, Paris
1994
A Changing World of Sculpture
British Council Collection, The State Museum,
St Petersburg, Russia
Beaux Arts, Bath (solo)
1993
Galeria Freites, Caracas (solo)
The Economist Plaza, London (solo)
1992
Gallery Universe, Tokyo (solo)
Galleria Blu, Milan (solo)
Galerie Marbeau, Paris (solo)
1991
Marlborough Gallery, New York (solo)
The Museum of Modern Art, Toyama (solo)
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield (solo)
1990
Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Sofia Imber, Caracas (solo)
1989
Marlborough Fine Art, London (solo)
Marlborough Gallery, New York (solo)
1988
Galeria Freites, Caracas (solo)
Modern British Sculpture from the Collection, Tate Gallery, Liverpool
1987
Erika Meyerovich Gallery, San Francisco (solo)
1986
British Embassy, sponsored by Christie’s Contemporary Art (solo)
Beaux Arts, Bath (solo)
Galleria Blu, Milan (solo)
1985
Marlborough Gallery, New York (solo)
Recalling the Fifties: British Painting and Sculpture 1950-60, Serpentine Gallery, London
1984
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Marlborough Fine Art, London (solo)
1983
Mercury Gallery, Edinburgh (solo)
1982
Christie’s Contemporary Art, New York
(with Victor Pasmore)
1981
British Sculpture in the Twentieth Century, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
1980
Galerie Regards, Paris (solo)
1979
Keys Gallery, Londonderry (solo)
1978
Marlborough Fine Art, London (solo)
1977
A Silver Jubilee,
Exhibition of Contemporary British Sculpture, Battersea Park, London
Carved, Modelled, Constructed: Three aspects of British 20th century sculpture, Tate Gallery, London
1975
Arte Contacto Galeria de Arte, Caracas (in collaboration with Marlborough Gallery,
New York) (solo)
Sculpture in Holland Park, London
1974
Marlborough Fine Art, London (solo)
Jiyugaoka Gallery, Tokyo (solo)
1972
Galleria Blu, Milan (solo)
1971
Galeria Wspólczesna, Warsaw (solo)
IVème Exposition Internationale de Sculpture Contemporaine, Musée Rodin, Paris
1969
Galerie Withofs, Brussels (solo)
1968
Galleria Blu, Milan (solo)
1966
Marlborough New London Gallery (solo)
Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
1965
British Sculpture in the Sixties, Tate Gallery, London
Sculptures from Albert A. List Family Collection, New York Art Center
1964
Contemporary British Sculpture (Arts Council open-air touring exhibition)
Exhibition of Venice Biennale Prizewinners
since 1948, Galeria d’Arte Moderne, Venice
1963
Sculpture in the Open Air (London County Council exhibition), Battersea Park, London
Galleria Blu, Milan (with Kenneth Armitage)
1962
Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura, Japan
(with Kenneth Armitage)
British Art Today, San Francisco Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Contemporary Arts,
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
1961
2ème Exposition Internationale de Sculpture Contemporaine, Musée Rodin, Paris
Peter Lanyon, William Scott, Lynn Chadwick, Merlyn Evans, VI Biennale de São Paulo,
Museo de Arte Moderna (solo)
Marlborough Fine Art, London (solo)
1960
Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover
(with Kenneth Armitage)
1959
John Moores Liverpool Exhibition 2,
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1958
50 Ans d’Art Moderne,
Palais International des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
Galerie Daniel Cordier, Paris (solo)
1957
Saidenberg Gallery, New York (solo)
Contemporary Art – Acquisitions 1954-1957, Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Sculpture 1850 and 1950, Holland Park, London
1956
The Seasons, Tate Gallery, London
Exposition Internationale de Sculpture Contemporaine, Musée Rodin, Paris
XXVIII Biennale, Venice (with Ivon Hitchens)
1955
Young British Sculptors
(touring exhibition by the Arts Club of Chicago)
54th London Group, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
1954
Sculpture in the Open Air, Holland Park, London
1953
The Unknown Political Prisoner
(sponsored by the Institute for Contemporary Arts), Tate Gallery, London
IXème Salon de Mai, Palais de New York, Paris
2ème Biennale de la Sculpture,
Middelheim Park, Antwerp
1952
New Aspects of British Sculpture,
XXXVI Biennale, Venice
Gimpel Fils, London (solo)
1951
Festival of Britain, South Bank, London
1950
Gimpel Fils, London (solo)
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Yorkshire Sculpture Park,
Wakefield, UK
Yale Center for British Art,
New Haven, CT
Art Institute of Chicago,
Chicago, IL
Museum of Modern Art,
New York, NY
Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection,
New York
Carnegie Institute,
Pittsburgh, PA
Columbus Museum of Art,
Columbus, OH
Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Sofia Imber,
Caracas, Venezuela
Modern Museet,
Stockholm, Sweden
City Museums and Gallery,
Birmingham, UK
National Museum of Wales,
Cardiff, UK
City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery,
Bristol, UK
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art,
Edinburgh, UK
Arts Council of Great Britain,
London, UK
Contemporary Art Society,
London, UK
British Council,
London, UK
Tate Gallery,
London, UK
Whitworth Art Gallery,
University of Manchester, UK
Peggy Guggenheim Collection,
Venice, Italy
National Gallery of Jamaica,
Kingston, Jamaica
Hakone Open-Air Museum,
Hakone, Japan
Museo Rufino Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo Internacional,
Mexico
Collection of the Principality of Monaco,
Monte Carlo
Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller,
Otterlo, The Netherlands
Nasjonalgalleriet,
Oslo, Norway
Instituto de Artes Contemporaneas,
Lima, Peru
The Berardo Collection,
Lisbon, Portugal
South African National Gallery,
Cape Town, South Africa
Musée National d’Art Moderne,
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Musée Rodin,
Paris, France
Irish Museum of Modern Art,
Dublin, Ireland
Israel Museum,
Jerusalem, Israel
Tel Aviv Museum,
Tel Aviv, Israel
Jerusalem Foundation,
Jerusalem, Israel
Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Italy
City of Spoleto,
Italy
Galeria Civica d’Arte Moderna,
Spoleto, Italy
Museo d’Arte Moderna,
Venice, Italy
National Gallery,
Hamilton, Bermuda
Art Gallery of Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada
Art Gallery of Ontario,
Toronto, Canada
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts,
Montreal, Canada
Nordjyllands Kuntsmuseum,
Aalborg, Denmark
Marie-Louise and Gunnar Didrichsen Art Museum, Helsinki
Art Gallery of South Australia,
Adelaide, Australia
Western Australian Art,
Perth, Australia
Art Gallery NSW,
Sydney
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique,
Brussels, Belgium