Lynn Chadwick was drawn to the image of the beast throughout his career as an expression of vitality. Regularly returning to the theme from the mid- 1950s onwards, Chadwick’s beasts are found crouching, sitting or howling before becoming more specific as in this fine example titled as ‘Lion’.

From a practical perspective, Chadwick’s beasts allowed him the opportunity to explore elevating mass on four spindly legs, rather than two, a signature theme in Chadwick’s work. The beasts also allowed Chadwick to experiment with stance with subtle changes to the balance of weight and direction of the head. Having first learnt to weld in 1950 alongside his contemporary, Geoffrey Clarke, the Beast sculptures also exemplify Chadwick’s remarkable consolidation and refinement of technique.

Lynn Chadwick first came to international prominence in 1952 when he was included in the British Council’s ‘New Aspects of British Sculpture’ exhibition for the XXVI Venice Biennale alongside Kenneth Armitage, Reg Butler, Bernard Meadows, Geoffrey Clarke, Robert Adam, William Turnbull and Eduardo Paolozzi.

The following year, Chadwick was one of the twelve semi-finalists for the Unknown Political Prisoner International Sculpture Competition and went on to win the International Prize for sculpture at the 1956 Venice Biennale, ahead of Alberto Giacometti. Many honours and awards followed this period and his work was widely collected both privately and by major institutions globally. In 1964, he was awarded a CBE and in 2001 was elected a Royal Academician. A major retrospective of his work was held this year at Houghton Hall, Norfolk.