Beschreibung:

Lynn Chadwick R.A. (British, 1914-2003)Cloaked Figure IX
signed with initial and numbered 'C 770 1/6' (on the side of the figure's cloak)
bronze with a black patina
185 cm. (73 in.) high
Conceived and cast in 1978FootnotesProvenance
The Artist, from whom acquired directly by the family of the present owner circa 1978, and thence by descent to the present owners
Private Collection, U.K.
Exhibited
London, Marlborough Fine Art, Chadwick Recent Sculpture, February-March 1978, cat.no.33 (another cast, ill.); this exhibition travelled to Zurich, Marlborough Galerie AG, April-May 1978
Witley Court and Ragley, Jerwood Foundation (this cast, long-term loan, 2001-2011)
Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park (this cast, long-term loan, 2012-2023)
Literature
Art International, Vol. 22/3, March 1978, p.49 (another cast)
Dennis Farr & Éva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick, Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-1996, Lypiatt Studio, Stroud, 1997, p.320, cat.no.770, (ill.b&w, another cast)
Sarah Chadwick (intro.), (exh.cat.), The Sculptures at Lypiatt Park, London, Blain Southern, 2014, pp.66, 94, cat.no.66 (col.ill., another cast)
Michael Bird, Lynn Chadwick, Farnham, 2014, p.155, cat.no.7-3 (col.ill., another cast)
Dennis Farr & Éva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick, Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2005, Lund Humphries, Aldershot, 2006, p.328, cat.no.770 (ill.b&w, another cast)
Dennis Farr & Éva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2003, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2014, p.334, cat.no.770 (ill.b&w, another cast)
Lynn Chadwick's impressive Cloaked Figure IX encapsulates much of the artist's mature style and illustrates his increasing focus on the use of garments to dress and add dynamism to his figures. First suggested in his 1950s sculptures, in the Teddy Boy and Girl series, he moved to add ever more dramatic clothing as his work matured, leading to the billowing cloaks of the 1970s. Experimenting with the motif of the voluminous, blown cloak, as seen in his Jubilee sculptures, Chadwick created many variations on this, including with the fabric streaming out behind, swept to one side and, in the case of the present work, 'falling from the shoulders in ceremonial amplitude' (Michael Bird, Lynn Chadwick, Lund Humphries, Farnham, Surrey, 2014, p.156).
Here, the female figure is shrouded in a long, draping cloak, the positioning of which lends the figure a sense of grandeur, and also of mystery. She seems to be a powerful, all-seeing presence, stately in her pose and inscrutability. As is typical with Chadwick, her female features are indicated only by the suggestion of her breasts and a triangular, block-like head, but she also seems imbued with a gracefulness that is particularly feminine. Her face is, as always, blank, with Chadwick once famously declaring 'no expression is an expression' (Lynn Chadwick: The Couple, exh.cat., Pangolin, London, 2011, p.3). He looked to body language as a more useful device for conveying attitude than facial features, which could be limiting. As ever with Chadwick, his ability to tell us so much with an incredible economy of form is notable.
The angularity of Chadwick's style is writ large in this sculpture, and accentuated by the folds of the cloak. Chadwick studied closely the weight and properties of different fabrics and seems to have chosen for the present work one which hangs particularly heavily, with a weight that suggests ceremonial robes. Instead of flowing, curving fabric, we have grooved, geometric lines that accentuate the sharp posture of the shoulders and the strong stance of her legs, which are just visible.
The addition of the cloak is also important in that it suggests movement, trailing as she seems to move silently forwards. Although the stance of her body appears apparently to be still, the flowing length of her cloak seems caught in movement, with dynamic ripples indicating her passage through the space. It is as though she walks among us with slow and considered steps, gliding past. As Chadwick explained, 'The important thing in my figures is always the attitude – what the figures are expressing through their actual stance. They talk, as it were, and this is something a lot of people don't understand.' (Lynn Chadwick, quoted in Edward Lucie-Smith, Chadwick, Gloucestershire, 1997, p.31).
The mid-1970s brought about a subtle change in his approach to depicting the figure. As Michael Bird has written, ' "Presences" was how he referred to his new figure sculptures; they were about being, not doing: "I used to call them Watchers, but no longer. Sometimes they are not watching anything. What they are doing is illustrating a relationship – a physical relationship – between people". It was through this relationship, not through purely formal or allusive qualities, that he wanted his sculptures to speak: "If you can get their physical attitudes right you can spell out a message"' (Michael Bird, op. cit., p.147). Although Cloaked Figure IX is a single figure and not depicted, as so often in his work, with a male counterpart, her presence is undoubtedly a powerful one. Created as she is on a monumental scale, standing 185cm high, her full attitude cannot in fact be understood from one fixed viewpoint, but must instead be appreciated by walking around, taking in the full majesty of her flowing robes. Chadwick is thus encouraging the viewer themselves to actively interact with her stately, commanding presence, as though bearing witness to her regal procession, by ironically having us do the walking.
Cloaked Figure IX was acquired directly from the artist by the family of the present owner, and has been enjoyed in this private collection for many years. It has also been exhibited publicly, both with the Jerwood Foundation at Witley Court and Ragley, and also most recently among the rolling hills of Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Number one from the edition of six, its appearance on the market is an exciting opportunity to acquire a monumental example of Chadwick's work, which is of museum quality.
We are grateful to the Artist's Estate for their assistance in cataloguing this lot.
Photography © Jonty Wilde, courtesy of Yorkshire Sculpture Park.