Lynn Chadwick, Study

Artist: Lynn Chadwick (1914 - )
Title:Study
Medium:Pen and ink drawing
Image Size:13 in x 10.5 in (33 cm x 26.7 cm)
Framed Size:32 in x 26.5 in (81.3 cm x 67.3 cm)
Signature:Signed and dated in black felt pen in the lower right corner, Chadwick 57.
Condition:This work is in extremely good condition.
ID #w-2218

Historical Description

Haunting in quality, Chadwick renders a form that captures qualities of both structural solidity and bestial physicality.  Possibly created as a study for Maquette II (R34 Memorial), this work offers a unique glimpse into Chadwick unique artistic process.

Executed on a fine cream drawing paper, this work is signed and dated in the lower right-hand corner.  The drawing is executed with a fine tipped felt pen in black.

Bird like in inspiration, this image transfixes the viewer with its' large inky eyes and outstretched wings.  The artist's delicate use of line lends a mechanical aspect to the work further enhancing the mysterious quality of the image.  Through his use of intense shading, Chadwick creates a three dimensional perspective, allowing the creature to depart from the page entering the viewer's space.

In Dennis Farr's and Eva Chadwick's volume regarding the authors state, "Chadwick's method of beginning his sculpture by constructing an armature of abstract shapes is the reverse of more traditional processes, where a sculptor may start with a naturalistic subject, perhaps in the form of a model which he then enlarges, only to simplify and purge it of its more overtly representational elements.  Chadwick likes abstract shapes, and he says, like Victor Pasmore, that he can't resist thinking in terms of pure forms, pure shapes; yet at the same time, he admits that he 'can't resist adding something.'  Abstract shapes supported on legs begin to acquire movement, and hence to suggest birds, animals, or human figures...Thus, while thinking always in sculptural terms of mass, weight, and movement, Chadwick invests his abstract shapes with allusive vitality" (Farr, 9).

About the Framing:

The image is presented in a sleek black and gold frame.  The gold detailing of the molding compliments the tonality of the paper creating a luminous presentation.  In addition, the black of the molding and inner fillet enhances the linearity of the composition.  The framing is completed with cream linen mattes and a black inner fillet.