Biography

LYNN CHADWICK CBE

1914 – 2003
  • It seems to me that art must be the manifestation of some vital force coming from the dark, caught by the imagination and translated by the artist's ability and skill...Whatever the final shape the force behind it is indivisible. When we philosophise upon this force we lose sight of it. The intellect alone is still too clumsy to grasp it.'Lynn Chadwick - 1953

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    BIOGRAPHICAL TIMELINE | 1926 – 2003

     

  • 1926-1946

    Attended Merchant Taylors School, London.

    Trained as a draughtsman in various architectural firms.

    ​During the war, worked as a farm labourer before volunteering for the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy.

    ​Qualified as a pilot in Canada.

    ​Met and married his first wife Ann Secord and fathered a son, Simon in 1942.

    ​Piloted Swordflish, escorting and protecting convoys in the North Atlantic.

    ​After the war, resumed work with the architect Rodney Thomas in London.

     

     

    1946-1956

    Moved out of London, to Fisher's cottage, Stroud, Gloucestershire. 

    First mobile shown at the Builder's Trades

    Exhibition, developed from ideas of moving sculptural objects proposed by Rodney Thomas.

    Moved to Pinswell Cottage, Gloucestershire.

    First solo exhibition at Gipel Fils Gallery

    Commissioned by Jane Drew to make a mobile for the Riverside restaurant, Tower  and Misha Black for a Stabile, Cypress to be placed in the garden of the Regatta Restaurant, both on the South Bank site for the Festival of Britain '51.

    Exhibited Green Finger at Battersea Park Open-Air Sculpture exhibition.

    The Fisheater commissioned by the Arts Council shown at RBA Galleries.

    Second one-man exhibition at Gipel Fils also shown at Galerie de France, Paris.

    Included in 'New Aspects of British Sculpture' for the XXVI Biennale, Venice.  Semi-finalist for the International Sculpture Competition organised by the ICA with The Unknown Political Prisoner.

     

     

    1956-1966

    Kenneth Armitage, Lilian Somerville, F.E. McWilliam and (in front) William and Mary Scott

    Won the International Prize for Sculpture at the XXVIII Biennale, Venice.

    First Lithograph published by Bodensee-Verlag, Amriswil, Switzerland.

    Elected member of Wiener Secession, Vienna.

    Commissioned by the Air League of the British Empire Memorial Committee to commemorate the double crossing of the Atlantic by the airship R34 in 1919.  Model and full scale sculpture of Stranger III accepted for London Airport site but it faced furious opposition and the proposal was withdrawn.

    Won first prize, III Concorso Internazionale del Brontezzo, Padua.

    ​Divorced first wife, Anne.

    ​Bought Lypiatt Park, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

    Married Frances Jamieson: daughters Sarah and Sophie.

    ​Signed a two year contract with Marlborough Fine Art, London.

    ​Exhibited hors concours at VI Bienal de Sao Paulo, Brazil.

    Prize winner at VII Eposizione di Bianco e Nero, Lugano.

    ​Artist in residence for a term at Ontario College of Art, Toronto.

    ​Exhibited Two Winged Figures at the Festival Dei Due Mondi, Spoleto, on the

    recommendation of Museo d'Arte Moderna, Rome.

    ​Received Carborundum Company's Sculpture Major and Minor Awards to produce circular sculpture in fibreglass, Manchester Sun for the University of Manchester, life sciences building.

    1964 appointed Commander, Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Years honours.

    Death of Frances Chadwick.

    ​Represented in London Group 1914-1964 Jubilee Exhibition.

    ​Elected member of the Academia di San Luca Rome.

    ​Elected member of the Accademia Florentina Delle Arti del Disegno, Florence.

    ​Married Eva Reiner: one son, Daniel.

    Eva Chadwick became widely recognised for her astute management of Chadwick's estate and archives.

     

     

    1966-1986

    Received Honorary Membership, Masters of Fine Art International Association, New York.

    ​Environmental sculpture for Milan Esposizione Triennale.

    ​Made Jewellery with Rebecca John.

    ​Premio Indelebile, El Circulo de Bellas Artes de Lerida, Spain.

    Opened his own foundry at Lypiatt Park.

    Elected Knight of Mark Twain, Kirkwood, MO.

    ​Elected as Master of Fine Arts International, Hamberg

    Commissioned by the British Art Medal Society to design a medal, Diamond, struck by the pobjoy mint for the BAMS

    ​Created Officer, Ordre des Arts st des Lettres, France.

     

     

    1986-1996

    Acquired a large warehouse in Chalford, near Lypiatt Park and equipped it as a workshop and sculpture store.

    Claude and Rungwe Kingdom acquire the adjacent building for their foundry Pangolin Editions.

    ​Chairman of Jury, sculpture project for new Glaxo Building, Verona.

    ​Invited by the Director of XLIII Venice Biennale to contribute bronze Back to Venice, in special international sculpture survey.

    ​Appointed to the Order of Andres Bello-First Class, Venezuela.

    Inauguration of Hello Paris! at Le Pontant de Paris.

    ​Begins to place sculptures in Toadsmore valley adjoining Lypiatt Park.

    ​Appoints Rungwe Kingdon and Pangolin Editions to cast all his work.

    ​Created Commandeur, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France.

    ​Elected Associate, Academie Royal de Belgique, Belguim.

    ​Created Honorary Fellow, Cheltenham and Gloucester Collage of higher Education, Cheltenham.

     

     

    1996-2004

    Chadwick's final work, Ace of Diamonds III is placed in the Sculpture Park dedicated to his work, at Lypiatt Park, Gloucestershire.

    Awarded Honorary Fellow, Bath Spa University Collage, Bath.

    ​Awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol.

    ​Awarded the Degree of Doctor or Letters, Loughborough University.

    ​On the 25th of April 2003 Lynn Chadwick died at his home Lypiatt Park, Gloucestershire.

    ​Awarded The Goldhill Award for Sculpture, Royal Academy of Arts.

    Honorary Senior Academician, Royal Academy