WORK OF THE WEEK: Hubert Dalwood, Untitled, 1974-75

Hubert Dalwood
Untitled, 1974-75
Bronze
173 x 154 x 124 cm
68 x 60 ⅝ x 48 ¾ in.
Edition 2 of 2

Today, we are celebrating prominent British sculptor, Hubert Dalwood, born on this day in 1924.

Hubert Dalwood’s bronze work, Untitled (1974-5) was commissioned in June 1969 after a competition was held to produce a sculpture for the University of Central England in Birmingham. Robert Adams, Bryan Kneale and Hubert Dalwood all submitted proposals, but it was Dalwood’s ambitious design that was chosen by the committee that included William Gear and representatives of the Arts Council of Great Britain.

Pictured right: Hubert Dalwood, Untitled, 1974-5, sited at Birmingham City University (1975).

The design for the sculpture went through many incarnations before it was sited in 1975, as changes were made to the building plans. The work originally included a Corten steel base that housed an extensive Bonsai Garden, and featured a water fountain. Designed to be placed inside or out, it was inspired by his trip to Japan, as he deployed elements of Japanese garden arrangements, and their relationship with scale, form and man-made objects.

After many decades, the base was removed. The piece is now placed directly on the ground, which highlights the juxtaposition between the natural landscape and Dalwood's characteristic structural forms.

Hubert Dalwood (1924 – 1976) was known for his innovative contributions to modern sculpture during the mid-20th century. After working as an engineer in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Dalwood studied at Bath Academy of Art. Following a trip to Sicily and Milan on an Italian Government Scholarship, he was awarded the Gregory Fellowship at Leeds University. In 1962, he showed at the Venice Biennale, alongside Ceri Richards and Robert Adams. Here, he was awarded the David E. Bright Sculpture Prize. In 1974, Dalwood was appointed Head of Sculpture at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, and a major retrospective of his work was shown by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1979.

Hubert Dalwood had a pragmatic approach to commissions for public sculpture. As well as Untitled (1974-5), he was commissioned to create several public sculptures throughout his career, including Three Uprights (1959) for Liverpool University, and Fountain (1962) for Nuffield College, Oxford. In 2016, Leeds University restored and returned his work, Untitled Bas-Relief, originally commissioned by the University in 1961, to the centre of the campus on the stage@leeds building.

Hubert Dalwood, Untitled, 1974-75, Bronze, 173 x 154 x 124 cm, sited in the Orangery at Roche Court Sculpture Park

Pictured left: Hubert Dalwood, Hand, c.1950, alabaster, 23.5 x 14 x 12 cm

Before 1956, Hubert Dalwood's sculptures were mainly figurative. In the early 1950s, he worked as an assistant to Barbara Hepworth in St Ives, helping her with the casting of a clenched fist she had carved in stone. In the same year, Dalwood carved an oversized fist in Alabaster, Hand, one of the only examples of his use of this rare material.

Hubert Dalwood's work is represented in many private and public collections including Tate Gallery, London; Art Council of Great Britain; Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York; Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Leeds City Art Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The New Art Centre represents the Estate of Hubert Dalwood, and, over the years, has held several major exhibitions of his work at the sculpture park.

Hubert Dalwood
Relief: Bergamo, 1958
Aluminium
60 x 98 x 20 cm
1ft 11 ⅝ x 3ft 2 ⅝ x 7 ⅞ in.

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