Post-War British Sculpture

Beyond The 'Geometry of Fear'

Herbert Read memorably described the work of a group of young British sculptors, shown at the Venice Biennale in 1952, as being characterised by the ‘geometry of fear’. It is this concept which has dominated views of post-World War Two British sculpture, yet the works offered in our April 2023 MODERN MADE auction reveal the breadth of concerns, materials and techniques which these artists brought to their practices over the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.

The works by Robert Adams, Geoffrey Clarke, Hubert Dalwood, Elisabeth Frink, George Kennethson and Denis Mitchell offered in our April edition of MODERN MADE, reveal the breadth of concerns, materials and techniques which these artists brought to their practices over the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.

These were the glory days of government funding of the art world, with the Arts Council of Great Britain and the British Council making great efforts to promote the achievements of the nation’s artists at home and abroad. Thus, Robert Adams and Geoffrey Clarke were amongst those brought to international acclaim in New Aspects of British Sculpture mounted in the British Pavilion in 1952, under the auspices of the British Council and reviewed to such effect by Read.

Robert Adams was to return to the Venice Biennale ten years later, with a lauded solo presentation in which his unique approach to constructed abstraction was encompassed in works such as Three Circular Forms (Wall Sculpture) of 1961. He made it with bronzed steel and it was installed to great effect in the second gallery of the British Pavilion.

LOT 138 | § ROBERT ADAMS (BRITISH 1917-1984)

THREE CIRCULAR FORMS (WALL SCULPTURE), 1961 | £8,000 - £12,000 + fees

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Geoffrey Clarke used the techniques of construction, casting and welding to re-conceptualise the human figure and to explore the meaning of humanity’s existence in works of the 1950s, including Façade (Man as a Fortress) and Symbol for Man VIII. They were realised in their final form in bronze and iron respectively.

In contrast, George Kennethson’s commitment to ‘direct carving’ and ‘truth to materials’ meant that with his mallets and chisels, he continued a tradition grounded in British sculpture earlier in the century, as led by sculptors including Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. Wave Form reveals his humane abstraction and deliberately bears the marks of the creative process. Father and Child, of the 1960s, is carved from alabaster, the material with which Kennethson is most closely associated. An alternative to the ‘mother and child’ theme which runs throughout the history of art, this work has particular resonance for its creator, who was a father of five.

LOT 200 | § GEORGE KENNETHSON (BRITISH 1910-1994)

WAVE FORM, CIRCA 1950s - 1960s | £12,000 - £18,000 + fees

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As a leading female sculptor based in post-war London, Elisabeth Frink came to prominence whilst still a student, when the Tate purchased her work in 1952. New Bird II and Homme Libellule II (Man Dragonfly), both of 1965 and cast in bronze, encompass one of her most enduring concerns: relating maleness and man’s existence to that of flighted animals, with overtones of futility, menace and tenacity.

LOT 140 | § DAME ELISABETH FRINK (BRITISH 1930-1993)

NEW BIRD II, 1965 | £12,000 - £18,000 + fees View

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Deeply rooted in the St Ives School where he moved to before World War Two, Denis Mitchell’s Levant of 1966 and Probus of 1971 speak to the simplified abstraction from nature for which he is increasingly celebrated. In 1979 he reviewed his career thus far, declaring: ‘Art, with my earlier experience of working close to nature on the land in the market garden, beneath it as a tin miner, and later at sea fishing, taught me three most important things: faith, humility and patience.’

LOT 64 | § DENIS MITCHELL (BRITISH 1912-1993)

LEVANT (UNPOLISHED VERSION), 1966 | £8,000 - £12,000 + fees

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Hubert Dalwood’s work was also shown in depth at the Venice Biennale of 1962, besides that of Adams and Ceri Richards. By that point, he had moved from the figurative to the abstract, yet his Bonzai Garden II of 1975 – made in terrosa ferrata and then cast in bronze - represents a response to a visit to Japan two years earlier, which intensified his interest in the cultivation of nature to enrich the human experience. The terrosa ferrata version was included in Dalwood’s retrospective exhibition of 1979, organised by the Arts Council as the decade came to a close.

LOT 126 | § HUBERT DALWOOD (BRITISH 1924-1976)

BONZAI GARDEN, 1975 | £1,500 - £2,500 + fees

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British sculpture had moved far beyond that which fitted under the ‘geometry of fear’ label of 1952, as illustrated by the achievements of the six sculptors discussed here. Explore a wide range of post-war British sculpture in our upcoming sale.

Auction Information

MODERN MADE:

Modern & Post War Art, Design and Contemporary Ceramics & Crafts

Friday 28 April 2023 at 10am

Live at Mall Galleries, London & Online

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Modern British Art

Lyon & Turnbull are delighted to offer several auctions a year across the UK featuring to Modern British painting, sculpture, prints and drawings - including MODERN MADE in London. These Modern British art auctions feature works from the likes of Walter Sickert and the Camden Town Group to Terry Frost and the St Ives School, we also handle selected works by all of 20th century Europe’s major figures and movements.

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