Kenneth Armitage

1916 - 2002

Kenneth Armitage was born in Leeds and in 1934 was awarded a scholarship to Leeds College of Art, where Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth had previously trained. Following this he moved to London and attended the Slade school of Art where he flourished as a sculptor.

Throughout his life Armitage created semiabstract figurative bronzes, many of which display a quirky sense of humour. His mature bronzes were often first formed in clay and then cast in monumental size. During the 1960s and beyond, he adapted his work, sometimes incorporating new materials such as plastic, spray paint and in this case silver.

Fleeing Man, (Variation) originates from a project called ‘Ars Mundi Argentea’ run by renowned Danish silversmith Karl Gustav Hansen in the 1970’s. Hansen invited a range of artists including Henry Moore, Kenneth Armitage , Lynn Chadwick, Giacomo Manzu and Max Weiss to create a series of sculptures which he then cast in silver. Many of the artists were so delighted with the results that they went on to develop further work cast in silver.