LONDON.- Of all the great British sculptors of the 20th century Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003) was perhaps the one whose work most clearly tells a story. His figures inhabit a world where something is happening, has just happened, or is about to happen. Precisely what is never made clear. The secrets his couples share in their private spaces – their bodies and heads so precisely and perfectly aligned – are left for the viewer to puzzle out. A fine collection of Chadwick’s work at Bonhams Modern British and Irish Art sale in London on Wednesday 30 June perfectly illustrates the point. Consigned direct from the family, the six pieces – of different sizes, dates and values – have impeccable provenance and are led by Maquette Jubilee II estimated at £300,000-500,000.

Bonhams Director of Modern British and Irish Art Penny Day said: “These remarkable pieces, which are being offered for the first time at auction, allow us to trace key developments in Lynn Chadwick’s style from the early 1960s, through the 1970s, to the early 1980s. Split I executed in 1964, for example, a work in bronze with brown patina stands in marked contrast to pieces from the 1970s and ‘80s, when he moved steadily towards naturalism. It was then that figures in pleated drapery, sometimes winged, perhaps with their cloaks billowing behind them, began to appear in his oeuvre as we can see in Maquette Jubilee II from 1983 and Winged Figure from 1976.”

Lynn Chadwick’s background was as an architectural draughtsman and the influence of his early profession can be seen in the way he uses lines and angles – ‘drawing in steel rods’ was how he put it. He had no formal art training, and it was not until 1949 that, at the age of 34, he showed his first piece, but the acclaim was immediate and his rise meteoric. In 1956 he was awarded the International Prize for Sculpture at the 1956 Venice Biennale ahead of Giacometti. The solo shows in New York, Montreal, Paris, Frankfurt and Zurich that followed cemented Chadwick’s reputation as one of the world’s most exciting sculptors.

The six works in the collection include:

• Maquette Jubilee II. Bronze with a grey patina and polished faces. Male figure: 86.5 x 60 x 119.5 cm. (34 x 23 5/8 x 47 in.) high, wide, long. Female figure: 88 x 85 x 108 cm. (34 5/8 x 33 ½ x 42 ½ in.) high, wide, long. Conceived in 1983 in an edition of 9. Estimate: £300,000-500,000.

• Cloaked Couple V. Bronze with a grey patina and polished faces. 51 cm. (20 in.) high. Conceived in 1977. Estimate: £100,000-150,000.

• Winged Figures. Bronze with a grey patina and polished faces. 61.5 cm. (24 1/4 in.) high. Conceived in 1976. Estimate: £60,000-80,000.

• Sitting Couple. Bronze with a grey patina. 31.5 cm. (12 3/8 in.) high. Conceived in 1976. Estimate: £25,000-35,000.

• King II. Bronze with a dark brown patina. 64.5 cm. (25 3/8 in.) high. Conceived in 1964. Estimate: £25,000-35,000

• Split I. Bronze with a brown patina. 51 cm. (20 in.) high. Conceived in 1964 in an edition of 4. Estimate: £15,000-25,000.