Forged steel
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<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/reg-butler-844" aria-label="More by Reg Butler" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Reg Butler</a>
Woman
Purchased 1950
abstraction
actions: postures and motions
adults
animal / human
animals: fantastic
figure
from recognisable sources
people
standing
woman
<p>'Woman', with its insect-like abdomen and its spiky, rather threatening presence, is typical of Butler's work in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1958 Butler wrote that his earliest linear open-work iron sculptures, such as this figure, were made in response to the 'enigmatical man-made objects' which sprang up around the coast of Britain during World War II. These included the radio and towers of Bawdsley in Suffolk, which the artist referred to as the 'Bawdsley personages ... with little that was benign in their personalities, remote inscrutible custodians of a landscape hostile to man'. The Tate also has a smaller study for this sculpture.</p><p><em>Gallery label, September 2004</em></p>
sculpture forged steel
22 April 2002 – 25 August 2002
2002-08-25
22 April 2002 – 25 August 2002
2002-08-25
2002-04-22
Tate Modern (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/
2002-04-22
Upright Figure
Collection based display
24 August 2007 – 22 March 2009
2009-03-22
24 August 2007
2007-08-24
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2007-08-24
Art from Nature
Collection based display
30 October 2010 – 18 November 2012
2012-11-18
30 October 2010 – 18 November 2012
2012-11-18
2010-10-30
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2010-10-30
Gallery 15
Collection based display
19 November 2013 – 19 February 2023
2023-02-19
19 November 2013
2013-11-19
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2013-11-19
Rotunda
Collection based display
19 December 2022
6 December 2021
2021-12-06
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2022-12-19
Gallery 33
Collection based display
Woman
object: 2210 × 770 × 750 mm
Purchased 1950
<p>'Woman', with its insect-like abdomen and its spiky, rather threatening presence, is typical of Butler's work in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1958 Butler wrote that his earliest linear open-work <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/m/metal" title="Glossary definition for 'Metal'"><span>iron</span></a> <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/sculpture" title="Glossary definition for 'Sculpture'"><span>sculptures</span></a>, such as this figure, were made in response to the 'enigmatical man-made objects' which sprang up around the coast of Britain during World War II. These included the radio and towers of Bawdsley in Suffolk, which the artist referred to as the 'Bawdsley personages ... with little that was benign in their personalities, remote inscrutible custodians of a landscape hostile to man'. The Tate also has a smaller study for this sculpture.</p>
Display caption
2004-09-02T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>N05942</b> WOMAN 1949
<br/> 
<br/>Not inscribed.
<br/>Forged iron, 87×28×19 (221×71×48).
<br/>Purchased from the Hanover Gallery (Knapping Fund) 1950.
<br/><i>Exh:</i> Hanover Gallery, July–August 1949 (1); Venice Biennale, 1952 (British Pavilion, 110).
<br/><i>Lit:</i> Philip Hendy, ‘New Sculpture and Painting’ in <i>Britain To-day</i>, September 1949, p.33; Robert Melville, ‘Personages in Iron’ in <i>Architectural Review</i>, CVIII, 1950, p.148, repr. p.149.</p>
<p>This was the first important figure made by Reg Butler on a large scale and is numbered opus 21 by the Hanover Gallery. A <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/m/maquette" title="Glossary definition for 'Maquette'"><span>maquette</span></a>, 12 in. high (opus 20), was included in the same exhibition (2) and was acquired by Marcus Whiffin, U.S.A.</p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, <i>The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture</i>, London 1964, I</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-10-08T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
abstraction actions: postures and motions adults animal / human animals: fantastic figure from recognisable sources people standing woman