William Kenneth Armitage (18 July 1916 – 22 January 2002) was a British

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

known for his semi-abstract bronzes.

Life

Armitage was born in Leeds on July 18, 1916, the youngest of three children studied at the Leeds College of Art and the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

in London before joining the British Army (

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

) in 1939. In 1940 he married Joan Moore, another sculptor. They separated in the 1950s but never divorced. They had no children. After leaving the army, Armitage became head of the sculpture department at the Bath Academy of Art in 1946. In 1952, he held his first one-man show in London. In 1953, he became Great Britain's first university artist in residence, at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

(to 1956). In 1958, he won best international sculpture under age 45 at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

. Armitage was made CBE in 1969 and was elected to the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1994. In 2001, his sculpture "Both Arms" was erected along with a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

Millennium Square, Leeds Millennium Square is a city square in the Leeds city centre#Civic-quarter, Civic Quarter of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was Leeds's flagship project to mark the year 2000, and was jointly funded by Leeds City Council and the Millennium Co ...

, being unveiled by

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. His 2001 sculpture "Legs walking" was erected in City Square, Leeds outside Mill Hill Chapel in 2018. He died 22 January 2002.

Work

Armitage's striking mature style was evident as early as 1952. Most of his works are recognizably human, but are sometimes joined with the forms of animals or furniture. Many displayed quirky humor. Armitage was also interested in ancient

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

and Cycladic art and his works have an archaic flavour. He was featured in the 1964 documentary film "5 British Sculptors (Work and Talk)" by American filmmaker Warren Forma. During the 1960s and beyond, Armitage adapted to the styles of the times, sometimes incorporating plastic or spray paint. File:Kenneth armitage, persone nel vento, 1950.jpg, ''People in the Wind'' (1950) Exhibited at Venice Biennale in 1952 File:Marl Armitage 01.JPG, ''Sitting People'' (1952),

Marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

, Germany File:Duisburg SLM Armitage 01.JPG, ''The Prophet'' (1961),

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

, Germany File:KMM Armitage 01.JPG, ''Monitor'' (1961),

Otterlo Otterlo is a village in the municipality of Ede of province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, in or near the Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe. The Kröller-Müller Museum, named after Helene Kröller-Müller, is situated nearby and has the world ...

The Netherlands File:Both Arms Armitage 2010.jpg, ''Both Arms'' (2001)

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, UK File:Legs Walking 24 May 2018 01.jpg, ''Legs Walking 2001'' (2001)

, UK

Exhibition

* 1960: ''Kenneth Armitage - Lynn Chadwick'', Kestner-Gesellschaft,

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* 1963: ''Kenneth Armitage - Galerie Charles Lienhard'',

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

References

"Armitage, Kenneth"
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'', 2008, Encyclopædia Britannica Online. November 26, 2008. * Ratcliff, Carter. "Armitage, Kenneth", '' Academic American Encyclopedia'', 1991 edition, volume 2, pp. 173–174. * Schmalenbach, Werner: Catalogue covering the exhibition of 1960 at Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover (in German).

External links

* *
Works at the Tate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Kenneth 1916 births 2002 deaths Geometry of Fear Alumni of Leeds Arts University Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art 20th-century English sculptors English male sculptors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Academicians Leeds Blue Plaques British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery soldiers 20th-century English male artists Military personnel from Leeds