Twentieth century art in the UK experienced a remarkable renaissance. Developing from the tidy portraits and landscapes of the eighteenth century and largely inspired by the great Turner, the modern British artist explored the most abstract and intense expressions of the form to produce a century that has been richer than most in artistic achievement. Some of those working in sculpture were world‐class names, such as Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Caro and Richard Long. Many from the latter part of the century, such as Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, achieved popular success.
All of these names are listed in British Sculptors of the Twentieth Century, which is a concise biographical dictionary of sculpture in the UK. Edited by Alan Windsor, an art historian, formerly head of the History Department at the University of Reading, the individual articles are written by named scholars and researchers and form a list of the most significant sculptors who worked in the UK during the century. The inclusion of the likes of Henri Gaudier‐Brzeska indicates that foreign‐born artists who made their major impact while working in the UK are also included. The preliminary notes to the volume indicate its aim. Each of the 750 entries is written in order to make the essential facts of the subject’s life and career known (there are also a few entries outlining the larger sculpture parks in the country). The biographical pieces include, as well as biographical information, a description of the artist’s work, illustrated in some 70 cases by monochrome photographs. The inclusion of these illustrations demonstrates the difficulty of explaining three‐dimensional work on the printed page; perhaps future editions, if there are to be any, could be accompanied by a DVD incorporating film of the various pieces of sculpture. A few of the entries have two or three “suggestions” for further reading, but the work overall has no bibliography, perhaps because the subject has such a small literature. This work will form an important role in rectifying the situation.
