Lynn Chadwick

Lynn Russell Chadwick
Lynn Chadwick at Lypiatt Park
Born	(1914-11-24)24 November 1914 Barnes, London, England
Died	25 April 2003(2003-04-25) (aged 88) Lypiatt Park, Gloucestershire, England
Education	London
Known for	Sculpture, drawing
Movement	Bronze Sculpture, Steel Sculpture, Iron Sculpture, Modernism
Awards	CBE

Lynn Russell Chadwick, CBE RA (24 November 1914 – 25 April 2003) was an English sculptor and artist. Much of his work is semi-abstract sculpture in bronze or steel. His work is in the collections of MoMA in New York, the Tate in London and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

Chadwick was born in Barnes, London, and attended Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood. While there he expressed an interest in being an artist, though his art master suggested architecture was a more realistic option. Accordingly, Chadwick became a trainee draughtsman, working first at the offices of architects Donald Hamilton and then Eugen Carl Kauffman, and finally for Rodney Thomas. Chadwick took great inspiration from Thomas, whose interest in contemporary European architecture and design had a significant effect on his development. His training in architectural drawing was the only formal education he received as an artist. He recalled: "What it taught me was how to compose things, a formal exercise in composition, really, it has nothing to do with the building it represents".

In April 1941, having previously been a conscientious objector, Chadwick volunteered to serve in the Fleet Air Arm, and in 1941–1944 he served as a pilot during the Second World War escorting Atlantic convoys.

After the war, Chadwick returned to Rodney Thomas where he became involved in the design of trade-fair stands.

In March 1946, he won a £50 prize in a textile design competition, which led to a contract to produce more designs for Zika and Lida Ascher who had promoted the 's' removed competition and who owned a textile design firm. Around the same time, Chadwick was commissioned to make exhibition stands for the Aluminium Development Corporation.

Chadwick constructed his first mobile around 1947 – which originated from ideas first proposed by Rodney Thomas. Very few of these works survive; they were made of wire, balsa wood and cut copper and brass shapes, often fish-like and sometimes coloured. Some were incorporated as decorative features in exhibition stands, while others found homes amongst Thomas and his circle. Later he developed ground supports for the mobiles, transforming them into what he called "stabiles". At the same time, he was designing fabrics and furniture.