Winged Figure II Maquette derives from a series of winged figures inspired by one of Chadwick’s only public commissions. The commission from the Air League of the British Empire to commemorate the double crossing of the Atlantic by the Airship R 34 in July 1919, and was to be placed outside the Long Haul Terminal at Heathrow Airport. The architect of the terminal, the Royal Fine Art Commission, the Minister of Transport and the Committee of the Air League were all enthusiastic about the sculpture. However,
in 1958 an opposing committee led by Lord Brabazon of Tara, called the sculpture a ‘diseased Haddock’, and with the Guild of Air Pilots and Aviators behind him, forced the Air League to withdraw the commission. Lynn Chadwick came to sculpture through unconventional means initially working as an architectural draughtsman. He began his sculptural career making mobile constructions for building trade fairs and it was the resulting success of these early mobiles and stabiles two of which were shown on the South Bank during the Festival of Britain in 1951, that first allowed him to seriously consider becoming a freelance sculptor. Chadwick’s unique approach was based on construction rather than modelling. First, he welded a linear armature or skeleton onto which he applied a skin, building up the sur- face to a solid form. By beginning with an abstract form or ‘space frame’ and investing it with an allusive vitality Chadwick’s working process is the reverse of most traditional approaches. The results are equally as original and each work has a carefully considered ‘attitude’ communicated through stance, texture and finish. Speaking of the process of making art Chadwick noted: ‘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 stage, the force behind it is... indivisible.’ Lynn Chadwick’s work can be found in prestigious private collections and major institutions around the globe. In 1964, he was awarded a CBE and in 2001 was elected a Royal Academician. A major retrospective of his work was held at Tate Britain, London in 2003.