Girl

A leading post-war British sculptor, draughtsman, architect and writer. Born in Buntingford, Hertfordshire, Butler trained as an architect but gave up his architectural practice to become the first Gregory Fellow in Sculpture at the University of Leeds from 1951-53. In 1953 he won first prize in the International Competition for a monument to The Unknown Political Prisoner with a design characterized by harsh metal forms suggesting a gallows on a rocky outcrop. This established Butler’s reputation and during the 1950s and 1960s he became very well known. Many of his works are held by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and by the Tate Gallery, London. During the late 1950s, he returned to figurative work and produced a number of bronze female figures. Girl, made c. 1956, was bought by the LACF in 1957.