Fenwick Lawson ARCA,
Hon RIBA (Northern)

Fenwick is Anna’s father. He was born in 1932 in South Moor, Co. Durham and spent his childhood in the neighbouring mining village of Craghead where his father was a coal miner. Before being awarded a place at The Royal College of Art in London he first studied art at Sunderland College of Art. Fenwick studied in London from 1954 – 57, under John Skeaping and with the influences of Jacob Epstein, who was working in the college on the Llandaff Christ. After his studies he was awarded the Sir James Knott Travelling Scholarship in 1958, which allowed him to travel in Europe experiencing the work of the masters, including Michelangelo and Donatello. He also came across Cycladic art for the first time and became interested in its simplicity of form. Fenwick returned home to the North East in 1959.

In around 1961 (actual dates get lost in the annuls of time!) he was appointed as a lecturer in sculpture at Newcastle-upon-Tyne College of Art, which then merged to form Newcastle Polytechnic becoming Head of the Sculpture Department at the Polytechnic until his retirement from teaching in 1984.During the 1960’s and 70’s Fenwick’s work was within the mainstream art of the time concerning itself with the ‘objectness’ of the object; it was art for arts sake. Whilst this genre had validity in its own right, it was not fulfilling his total self.He felt the need to redefine his work to include a moral content in order to engage with the human condition.

Most of these later works could be seen to be religious, however, if the viewer is prepared to look beyond the religious narrative they will see that it is used as a metaphor within which the sculptor can express his consciousness of humanity and inhumanity. The metaphor is timeless and transcends the dominant culture; it is concerned with the human condition and has both historical and contemporary relevance.

Fenwick is known internationally and Ananna Image is exclusively licensed to reproduce images of his sculptures.

If you want to find out more about Fenwick use our links to his website and check out my journal for events and unveilings – there are many.