Maquette V: Walking Woman was made c.1984 and purchased by the vendor from Beaux Arts Gallery of York Street, Bath, in 1986 and the lot is offered with a copy of the original receipt. It is estimated at £10,000-15,000 at Chorley’s Modern and Contemporary Art and Design sale on May 15.
The sculpture in question is typical of the semi-abstract style that the artist worked in for most of his career. He had started to clothe his figures in drapery in the 1970s, showing them with billowing cloaks blown back by the exaggerated high winds.
Chadwick moved from London to Gloucestershire in 1947, where he began sculpting in Upper Coberley. He bought the manor Lypiatt Park, just a few miles from the auction house, in 1958, converting the medieval chapel into a studio. The Pangolin Foundry was set up in the nearby Chalford Valley thanks in part to his success and remains one of the leading sculptural foundries in the country.
Including more than 700 lots, the auction also features studio pottery by the celebrated Lucie Rie. Her top-estimated piece is a porcelain-footed bowl with yellow glaze and bronzed manganese drip rim, impressed with an artist’s seal, which is pitched at £20,000-30,000.
