Alfred Horace Gerry Gerrard RBS (British, 1899-1998) A three-sided sculptural wall, called Joy

Alfred Horace Gerry Gerrard RBS (British, 1899 - 1998) A three-sided sculptural wall, called Joy, probably circa 1965 Carved in Portland Stone salvaged from Euston station, with linear and geometric motifs overall; and another, similar, carved with stylised masks 275cm high, 700cm wide, 560cm deep The single wall 236cm high, 495cm wide, 61cm deep On view at: The Sculpture Park Cheshire-born sculptor Alfred Horace Gerry Gerrard was educated at Manchester School of Art, and later at the Slade School of Art, where he studied with sculptor Henry Tonks. Gerrard spent most of his career as Professor of Sculpture at the Slade, of which he was temporary head in 1948-49. Prior to joining the Slade in 1925, he had been a bomber pilot in the First World War, injuring his spine during a tragic crash landing. Undeterred, he joined the armed forces again in the Second World War, and nearly lost his right arm during another accident, reputedly pleading with the surgeon not to remove it, so he could continue sculpting.Notable early commissions include the 1926 Memorial Stone for a Hunter, which was exhibited at the Tate Gallery and a Romanesque style portal for St Anselm's Church, Kennington in 1933. The present lot represents a later part of Gerrard's oeuvre. In 1960, the artist was awarded a silver medal from the Royal Society of British Sculptors for one of his sculptural walls. A direct descendant of renowned Elizabethan botanist John Gerard, Gerrard often engaged with the theme of man's engagement with nature and his surroundings. The dynamic geometric patterns carved into the present walls are inspired by the art of dance, and interact with light and shadow to create an intriguing interplay of positive and negative forms. The present walls may have been part of a Commission by the London County Council. This project apparently consisted of three walls, one of which, called Delight and adorned with similar geometric carvings, is at Abbey Wood Park, London. The stone panels are said to have been part of the old Euston train station, which was built during the 1830s and 40s, before being demolished and rebuilt during the 1960s