Anthony Caro

Sir Anthony Caro (1924- 2013) was an English sculptor who studied engineering at Christ’s College, Cambridge. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II and then returned to studying sculpture, first at Regent Street Polytechnic, London, and later with Charles Wheeler (1892-1974) at the Royal Academy Schools (1947–52). He then assisted the sculptor Henry Moore in his studio. Caro’s student sculpture was primarily figurative, but on a visit to the United States in 1959 he met the sculptor David Smith. Following his example Caro began experimenting with abstract metal sculptures made of steel beams, rods, plates, aluminum tubing and other found elements painted in bright colours. He came to public attention with a pioneering solo exhibition in London at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1963, which established his pivotal role in the development of twentieth-century international sculpture. Caro’s teaching at St Martin’s School of Art in London (1953-1981) was highly influential. His questioning approach opened up new possibilities, both formally and with regard to subject matter. Major exhibitions include retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1975), the Trajan Markets, Rome (1992), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (1995), Tate Britain, London (2005) and three museums in Pas-de-Calais, France (2008) to accompany the opening of his Chapel of Light at Bourbourg (see www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DgoXLzomtM – note the ‘spiritual’ even biblical side of Caro). He received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1987. He was awarded numerous Honorary Degrees and Doctorates, Awards and Prizes.