Lot 128: Hubert Dalwood (British, 1924-1976) Maquette for relief panel

Maquette for relief panel
plaster cast from a clay original, with silver paint (to represent cast aluminium), mounted on plywood panel,93 x 93cm (36 5/8 x 36 5/8in).

In 1964 the vendor of this lot was a final year student in the sculpture department of Hornsey College of Art whilst Hubert Dalwood was a visiting lecturer. He was Dalwood's main assistant on the large-scale relief panel commission destined for Manchester University, of which this lot is a maquette. Steel mesh sheets were fixed to a steel framework and clay was pushed into the mesh to create the panel's surface. The clay had to be kept moist during construction by enclosing the whole panel in damp towelling and polythene sheeting, opening up the working areas as needed. This maquette is inscribed with lines to aid the enlarging process, each square corresponded to about three feet square on the large piece. The rough alteration, cutting a section of the design down, made near the top left hand corner was a made by Dalwood as work on the large panel progressed. This design change can be seen in the commissioned work. The present condition, including a wire hanger that was used to place the maquette close to the work in progress in the studio, is exactly how the artist intended.

When the panel was finished and ready for casting, the vendor left the project and got married, and Hubert Dalwood gave him the maquette as a wedding present. In 1997 Dr Chris Stephens photographed the maquette for inclusion in his book The Sculpture of Hubert Dalwood published by Lund Humphries, although there is only a text reference in the book.