Maquette VI Sitting Elektra (Farr & Chadwick 583) by Lynn Russell Chadwick

Provenance:
Private Collection, Toronto

Literature:
Dennis Farr & Éva Chadwick, “Lynn Chadwick Sculptor, With a Complete Illustrated Catalogue 1947-2005”, Lund Humphries, 2006, page 12, illustrated page 262, cat. no. 583
Terence Mullaly, “Lynn Chadwick”, Obituary, The Guardian, April 28, 2003
Joan Collins, The Collection at Lypiatt Park: Lynn Chadwick. Ruder Finn Press, New York, 2006, page 22

The seated Elektra figures such as “Maquette VI Sitting Elektra” are some of Chadwick’s most recognizable artworks. On the Elektras, Dennis Farr and Eva Chadwick explain that there is a more naturalistic body form that emerges in the series “where the breasts and abdomen are tenderly modelled, and sharply emphasize the femininity of these figures when seen in consort with their male counterparts.” The authors also discuss the significance of how Chadwick titled his works explaining that his “choice of titles for his work was usually generically descriptive rather than allusive...and in the late 1960s especially, he used Greek words...so far as the ‘Elektras’ (‘the shining ones’) were concerned, there was no conscious or direct reference to the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophecles, or Euipides.”

In the artist’s obituary, Terence Mullaly writes: “His simplified human figures have already stamped themselves upon the artistic imagination and have come to stand as symbols.” The author goes on to explain why these figural works are so important: “This is a clue as to why his simplifications work so well both in his monumental pieces and in small bronzes. The female head is reduced to a triangle, the legs are straight and spiky, drapery is shown as an austere sweeping form, but the essentials of structure or movement are conveyed. Whether larger-than-life size or reduced down to the scale of a medal, the essentials of the image are clear.” Chadwick’s approach to sculpture was constructive and additive, rather than subtractive modeling. He first made a linear armature or skeleton onto which he applied a skin, building up the surface to a solid form.

At the 1956 Venice Biennale, Lynn Chadwick was granted the International Prize for Sculpture, becoming, at age 41, the youngest recipient of the award. Many in the art world were shocked at Chadwick's selection, having assumed that Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) would win. This achievement confirmed his international reputation in the art world. During the remainder of the decade, Chadwick 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. In the 1960s his work became more block-like and monumental, designed to be seen in the open. “Maquette VI Sitting Elektra” dating to 1969, demonstrates this new direction taken by Chadwick.

The work was cast in bronze, a medium the artist had recently adopted in the late 1950s. During this period, Chadwick was the sole technical force in the production of his work. He did not produce preparatory sketches, rather he improvised the works as he went through the sculpting process. “Maquette VI Sitting Elektra” is a product of Chadwick’s newfound confidence and refined skills, arriving at a mature point in his career. In a catalogue essay on an exhibition on Chadwick at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro in January 1962, Herbert Read noted that Chadwick has consolidated his style, saying ..."He is still preoccupied with states of attention or alertness in the human figure or the animal. His aim is to incorporate a moment of maximum intensity, and this he does by the most direct means – the reduction of bodily attitudes to their magnetic lines of force..."