FRANK DOBSON (1886-1963)

Standing at almost 6 feet high, Woman with a Bowl, 1954, is one of Frank Dobson’s most monumental sculptures. Dobson initially began his career as a painter, before focusing predominantly on sculpture from 1921, after service in the First World War. Dobson was one of the most revered artists of his generation and in the 1920s became regarded as one of the leading avant-garde sculptors of the day. During this time, Dobson was at the heart of many of the leading artistic movements. In 1920, he was the only sculptor to exhibit alongside Wyndham Lewis’ Group X, was a founding member of the London Artists' Association, spent three years as President of the London Group (1923-27). Dobson was greatly promoted by Roger Fry and Clive Bell and enjoyed international acclaim, exhibiting at the Venice Biennale in 1924 and in 1926, the 1925 Tri-National Exhibition which travelled to London, Paris and New York and the European artist’s exhibition that toured America and Canada in 1926. He later became Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art (1946-53) and in 1953 was elected to the Royal Academy.

Dobson’s main preoccupation, and the subject that he become best-known for, is the female nude. Seen to powerful effect in the present work, Dobson creates a work that is both contemporary and has a classical and timeless quality. Celebrated for his simplified forms and harmonious lines, which spoke equally of the African Art and the work of Aristide Maillol that inspired him, Dobson created a unique sculptural vernacular. This purity of aesthetic was celebrated by Fry, who described his work as, 'true sculpture and pure sculpture’, stating that it was ‘almost the first time that such a thing has been even attempted in England'.