Anthony Caro
b. 1924, United Kingdom
d. 2013
Sir Anthony Caro played a pivotal role in the development of twentieth century sculpture. His breakthrough exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1963 presented brightly painted, abstract steel sculptures displayed without plinths, directly on the floor. At the time, the omission of the pedestal was a radical shift in the dynamic between art and the viewer. He often worked in steel, but also created works in bronze, silver, lead, stoneware, wood and on paper. Caro’s constant reinvention of the language of abstract sculpture, as well as his influential teaching career at St. Martin’s School of Art, distinguished him not only as the sculptural successor to artists such as Henry Moore and David Smith, but also as an innovative artist who consistently defied convention.
Sir Anthony Caro was born in 1925 in New Malden, London, England, and died in 2013, in London, England. He received his M.A. in 1944 from Christ’s College, Cambridge, England, before training as a sculptor at the Royal Academy Schools, London. From 1951 to 1953, Caro worked as an assistant to Henry Moore. His sculpture has been shown and collected by museums throughout the world. Recent solo exhibitions include Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao (2000); Town Hall, Lewes, England (2001, traveled to Millfield School, Somerset; and Château–musée de Dieppe, France); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, England (2001, 2012); Centre Cultural Caixa Catalunya, Barcelona (2002); Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Michigan (2003, traveled to Meadows Museum, Dallas); Seoul Museum of Art, Korea (2004); Kunsthalle Würth, Schwäbisch Hall, Germany (2004); Tate Britain, London (2005); Ivam Centre Julio Gonzalez, Spain (2005); Portland Art Museum, Oregon (2005); New Art Centre Sculpture Park and Gallery, England (2007, 2010, 2012); Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, Ohio (2007); National Portrait Gallery, London (2008); Musée des Beaux–Arts, France (2008); Centre d'Art Sacre Contemporarin de Lille, France (2008); Musée des Beaux Arts et de la Dentelle, France (2008); Musee du Dessin et de l'Estampe Originale, France (2008); Lieu d'Art et Action Contemporain, France (2008); Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2010); Kunsthalle Würth, Germany (2012); Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut (2012); Museo Correr, Venice (2013); Musée Würth, France (2014); Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle, England (2015); and National Gallery, London (2015).
[Biography from Gagosian]