(b Leeds, 18 July 1916; d London, 22 Jan. 2002). British sculptor. In 1952 he had his first one-man show in London and in the same year his work was exhibited in the Venice Biennale; thereafter he rapidly developed an international reputation. His pre-war work consisted mainly of carvings (most of which he later destroyed), but soon after the war he began to work in bronze, which remained a favourite material for what he described as ‘the fluid, unifying and sensual quality it can give’. Bronze was also much more suitable than carving for the spindly-legged, slab-bodied shapes that were characteristic of his figures at this time; he depicted them singly or in groups, in everyday attitudes, with a sense of affection and often humour: ‘I find most satisfying work which derives from careful study and preparation but which is fashioned in an attitude of pleasure and playfulness.
Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)