British sculptor. He worked as a draughtsman for various architectural firms in London from 1933 to 1939, this being his only artistic training. During World War II he was a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm, but continued his architectural work from 1944 to 1946. He worked independently in Gloucestershire (1946-52), specializing in design. He won a textile design competition organized by the Ascher firm in 1946 and during this period he produced designs for textiles, furniture and architecture. This economic freedom allowed him to begin experimenting with sculpture, his first works being mobiles such as Dragonfly (1951; London, Tate), which he began to produce in late 1946. These were generally based on insect and bird forms and suggest the influence of Alexander Calder. Chadwick’s mobiles were exhibited at his first one-man show at the Gimpel Fils gallery in London in 1950 and this was followed by a commission to produce two sculptures for the Festival of Britain in 1951: one mobile and one stabile. Having then found his vocation as a sculptor he attended a welding school in 1950 to enable him to tackle large-scale works.
In 1953 he was one of the twelve semifinalists for the Unknown Political Prisoner International Sculpture Competition, in which he was awarded an honorable mention and prize. By 1956 his reputation as a sculptor was confirmed.
Gaining inspiration from organic shapes and spiked forms, Chadwick became engrossed in creating sculpture of internal tension and outer strength. Chadwick's approach to sculpture is based on construction rather than modeling. He first makes a linear armature or skeleton on to which he applies a skin, building up the surface to a solid form. Earlier works featured a more textured finish. Aggressive bird-like creatures began to emerge, perhaps symbolizing the experience of war and its aftermath. Gradually the dramatic, troublesome aspects of these forms were weakened as smoother surfaces and less aggressive visual imagery materialized. The evolution of Chadwick's human and animal forms grew more harmonious. Stylistic formulas of pyramids and wingspans were reduced to anecdotal, almost sentimental symbols: seated couples, walking figures or standing forms, reminiscent of gentler imagery. These static, monumental figures were frequently designed to be placed outdoors.
Chadwick has created a permanent exhibition of his work at his Gloucestershire home, Lypiatt Park, which also houses a foundry, Pangolin Editions. Lynn Chadwick remained a leading figure in contemporary British sculpture up until he died in April 2003.