Leon Underwood: Figure And Rhythm

Pallant House Gallery is delighted to present the first major museum retrospective for over forty years of the British artist Leon Underwood (1890-1975), described as ‘the precursor of modern sculpture in Britain’. The exhibition explores Underwood’s treatment of the figure throughout his career, from his paintings and etchings created in the early 20th century, to his wood engravings and sculptures of the 1920s and 1930s and beyond, when he was heavily influenced by non-western art, particularly African, Mayan and Aztec carvings. It also considers the influence of the artist’s Brook Green School of Drawing where pupils included Henry Moore, Eileen Agar, Blair Hughes-Stanton and Gertrude Hermes.

This exhibition makes an important contribution to the understanding of Underwood’s oeuvre, re-establishing his position at the forefront of artistic modernity in Britain in the 20th century. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue will build upon Ben Whitworth’s research for the catalogue raisonée (funded by the Henry Moore Foundation in 2001), and the artist’s recent inclusion in the ‘Modern British Sculpture’ exhibition and ‘Mexico: A Revolution in Art’ exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art, but significantly it will place Underwood’s sculptural oeuvre within the context of his paintings and other artistic expressions.