Leon Underwood: Figure & Rhythm

Catalogue to accompany the forthcoming exhibition Leon Underwood: Figure and Rhythm at Pallant House Gallery 7th March – 14th June 2015.

The British artist Leon Underwood (1890-1975) was hailed as ‘the precursor of modern sculpture in Britain’. The human figure was the central theme of his work across a diverse body of paintings, drawings, sculpture and prints. Published to coincide with the first major museum retrospective for over forty five years, this book traces the development of Underwood’s art from his early paintings based on his experiences in the First World War, to his etchings and wood-engravings of the Jazz Age, and his rhythmic sculptures inspired by his enthusiasm for non-western art, particularly African, Mayan and Aztec carvings.

Lavishly illustrated with over 145 images, many never previously published, this book includes essays by leading experts on the artist’s work, including Adrian Locke, Charlotte Stokes, Ben Whitworth and the exhibition’s curator Simon Martin. It considers the development of Underwood’s early sculpture, his significance as a printmaker, his influential Brook Green School of Art, where students included Eileen Agar, Gertrude Hermes, Blair Hughes-Stanton and Henry Moore, and the impact of travels in Mexico and West Africa on his work.