Robert Adams 1917-1984

Washington, Smithsonian Institute and subsequent US tour, British Artist Craftsmen, 1959-60, no.1;
London, Gimpel Fils, Robert Adams,1962, no.28;
Northampton, City Art Gallery and toured by the Arts Council to Sheffield, Newcastle upon Tyne and London, Camden Arts Centre, Robert Adams: Retrospective Exhibition, 1971, no.19;
Sudbury, Gainsborough's House, Robert Adams, 1978, no.1.

Conceived in 1958 and cast in an edition of 3 this piece is listed in Adams' own part typed part manuscript catalogue as 1958/9, Opus 71.

Although this piece has a clear cruciform basis, Adams himself felt that it was ‘an attempt to amalgamate in one complete form the Cross, the Crown of Thorns, and the Spirit of Life thrusting upwards.’ (Artist’s statement in notebook, Private Collection, quoted in A.Grieve,op.cit., p.80)

Whilst Adams had converted to Catholicism at the time of his marriage, he did not produce a large body of overtly religious work. However, in keeping with many of the artists of his generation, the church could be a useful patron, particularly for sculptors, and in the context of the high profile commissions for buildings such as Coventry Cathedral, it is perhaps surprising that Adams work was not more sought out for such locations.