William Kenneth Armitage was a British painter and sculptor known for his semi-abstracted works based on the human figure.
Born in Leeds, Armitage studied at the Leeds College of Art (1934-37) and the Slade School of Fine Art (1937-9) before joining the Army. After returning from the War, in 1946, Armitage was appointed Head of Sculpture at Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, a post he went on to hold for ten years. It was after his appointment in Corsham that Armitage began to work in bronze; most of his early sculptures were carved from wood, though the majority of which were later destroyed by the artist.
In 1952 Armitage held his first solo show at Gimpel Fils, London. It was also in this year that the artist's work was chosen to be part of the 'New Aspects of British Sculpture' exhibition at the 26th Venice Biennale, alongside pieces by other young British artists such as Reg Butler, Lynn Chadwick, Robert Adams and Geoffrey Clarke. In Herbert Read's description of the show, he first used the term 'geometry of fear', which came to be used to describe this group of artists. The second time Armitage's work was shown at the Biennale, at a solo exhibition in 1958, the artist won the award for 'Best International Sculpture by a Young Artist.'
Armitage's striking mature style, which had started to materialise around the time of his first appearance at Venice, is characterised by a use of humanoid forms that have been blended with animal features or elements of furniture. Many examples also present a quirkiness or sense of humour. The artist's interests in ancient Egyptian and Cycladic cultural objects manifests as an archaic or 'primitive' feel in his work.
Armitage was made a CBE in 1969 and was elected to the Royal Academy in 1994. The artist was commissioned by Baron Philippe de Rothschild to create the central façade of Château Mouton Rothschild, Bordeaux. His work is in the collections of the Tate, V&A, Deutsche Bank, Ingram Collection, British Government, Arts Council and British Council. David Bowie was also a collector.
