LYNN CHADWICK | Encounter VI

James Goodman Gallery, New York
Marion Benedek, United States (acquired from the above and sold: Christie's, New York, May 16, 1980, lot 15)
Acquired at the above sale

Josef Paul Hodin, Chadwick, London, 1961, n.n., illustration of another cast pl. 10
Alan Bowness, Lynn Chadwick, London, 1962, n.n., mentioned n.p. 
Abraham Marie Hammacher, Modern English Sculpture, New York, 1967, mentioned p. 112
Dennis Farr & Eva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-1988, Oxford, 1990, no. 214, illustration of another cast p. 115
Dennis Farr & Eva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-1996, Oxford, 1997, no. 214, illustration of another cast p. 119
Dennis Farr & Eva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2005, Aldershot, 2006, no. 214, illustration of another cast p. 127 
Dennis Farr & Eva Chadwick, Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2005, Farnham, 2014, no. 214, illustration of another cast p. 141
The Studio, London, June 1959, mentioned p. 167
Karen Thomson, ed., The Blema and H. Arnold Steinberg Collection, Montreal, 2015, no. 20, illustrated in color p. 28

The work features a rich black patina. There is some minor rubbing to the extremities of the bronze, most notably on the legs and the protruding elements at the top of the figures. There are some scattered white surface accretions, with a larger line accretion, possibly white paint, approximately 6 inches long just above the leg of the right figure. There is a 4 inch area with some scattered oxidation to the back of the left figure. There is some dust in the deeper crevices. This work is in overall very good condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A relative newcomer to sculpture and aged only 41, nobody was more astonished than Lynn Chadwick himself when he was awarded the international prize for sculpture at the 1956 Venice Biennale—an award which Alberto Giacometti was widely expected to win on the basis of his lifetime achievements. Chadwick had been surprised even to be selected: "Being included in the Venice Biennale was a shock. I was really, in my own mind, not ready for such a thing. When I was told [by the British Council] that I was going to represent Britain, I said ‘Wouldn’t it be better if I shared it with someone else?’’ (quoted in Edward Lucie-Smith, Chadwick, Gloucestershire, 1997, p. 26).  At a time when the Council had been under attack by the press for "wasting taxpayers" money on "ridiculous" modern art, the overwhelmingly positive response to the exhibition was a vindication: “Lynn Chadwick has been one of the revelations of the Biennale. Quite apart from the distinguished and highly original quality of his imagination, it is the beauty and sensitivity of execution that impresses. He may make use of the ‘creative accident,’ but the very sureness of his control makes most modern sculpture looks simply incompetent by the side of his work. This Biennale award marks the emergence of Lynn Chadwick as a figure of international artistic importance” (Alan Bowness, quoted in Dennis Farr, Lynn Chadwick, London, 2003, p. 44).

But to close observers of the younger generation of British sculptors to which Chadwick belonged, the surprise may not have been so universal; of the 19 sculptures he exhibited in Venice several were lent by important international public museums who had already bought his work for their permanent collections and saw him as a natural successor to his more established compatriots Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, both of whom had also achieved considerable successes in post-war Venice exhibitions.

Encounter VI was conceived in this pivotal year in Chadwick’s career and is one of ten sculptures in a series he completed between 1955 and 1959. It has been almost 30 years since a cast of this model last appeared on the open market.



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