Trigon sculpture (EHER 83154)

Abstract bronze sculpture by Lynn Chadwick, which is probably of 1963 in date.

NRHE data import: The 'Trigon' comprises an abstract bronze figure, cast from a frame of iron and spoilt (gypsum and iron filings) on a high reinforced concrete plinth. The figure, of menacing and predatory character, sums up Chadwick's fear of 'big brother', an Orwellian theme in tune with the popular politics of the time. The sculpture is very similar in form to his 'Watchers' sculpture at the Alton Estate, Wandsworth. ‘Trigon’, like Henry Moore's ‘Upright Motive No. 2’, illustrates how surroundings change, as phone boxes now obstruct views of the sculpture from certain angles. The sculpture was bought by Harlow Art Trust, the dynamic independent committee founded in 1953 which has brought an exceptional collection of public art to Harlow, in 1963. Initially, the trustees commissioned it in bronze-effect fibreglass. However, as his fibreglass techniques were quite experimental at that stage, Chadwick offered a bronze version instead. The cast, produced in a Swiss foundry, was sited in 1966. When considering the new works for the town centre, Harlow Art Trust passed on several artists, including Anthony Caro, before settling on Chadwick. Lynn Chadwick went out of fashion for a while but when Tate Britain put on major retrospective to mark his death in 2003, the sculpture’s value doubled in about six months. Information from <1>. Location verified from <2>.