In 1988, 32 years after Chadwick triumphed at the 1956 Venice Biennale, the British Council invited him back to create a large sculpture for the garden of the British Pavilion. This would be sited alongside works by Anthony Caro, Philip King and Joe Tilson. Chadwick came up with the 'Back To Venice' sculptures which depicted a regal looking couple sitting on a bench. As Michael Bird wrote in the monograph on Chadwick the space between the couple was important: "The figures are placed just close enough on the bench to form a side-by-side couple but further apart than 'Couple on a Seat'. Its a precisely judged gap, companionable rather than intimate, relaxed but authoritative."

This exceptional maquette is one of three smaller versions where Chadwick experimented with the surface textures and construction of the figures. Each of the smaller versions has a sister edition in which the figures have polished faces such as this edition. The polishing of the faces began in the late 60's and Chadwick enjoyed this simple variation as it offered the opportunity to change the feel of the piece substantially which he found interesting. In this case the polished faces makes the couple more intimate and draws the eye to their faces and leaving the viewer to interpret the expression.