Anthony Caro

Sir Anthony Caro was one of the most influential British sculptors of the twentieth century, widely credited with revolutionizing the practice of abstract sculpture. Trained at the Royal Academy Schools in London and later as an assistant to Henry Moore in the early 1950s, Caro underwent a transformative shift in his artistic direction following a pivotal visit to the United States in 1959, where he encountered the work of David Smith and engaged deeply with American formalist criticism, particularly through his friendship with critic Clement Greenberg. This exposure led him to abandon figuration entirely and embrace a boldly abstract, constructivist idiom built from industrial steel, aluminum, and found metal elements, typically welded and bolted together and painted in vivid flat colors. Caro is best known for his landmark series of floor-based sculptures created in the 1960s, including works such as "Early One Morning" (1962), "Month of May" (1963), and "Midday" (1960), all of which dispensed entirely with the traditional plinth or pedestal, placing sculpture directly on the ground to engage the viewer in a more immediate, physical dialogue with the work. These pieces, often painted in bold reds, yellows, and greens, established a new vocabulary for three-dimensional abstract art and were exhibited to great acclaim at the Whitechapel Gallery in London in 1963. Caro taught at St. Martin's School of Art for many years, profoundly influencing a generation of British sculptors who became known as the New Generation. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Caro continued to evolve, experimenting with rusted and unpainted steel, bronze, paper, ceramics, and even architectural-scale installations such as his ambitious "Sculpturally" series and the "Millbank Steps" commission. He received numerous accolades throughout his life, including a knighthood in 1987 and the Praemium Imperiale in 1992. His work is held in major collections worldwide, including the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, cementing his legacy as a pivotal figure in the history of modern and contemporary sculpture.