Robert Adams was born in 1917. He studied at the Northampton School of Art from 1933 to 1944. During World War II he was employed as an engineer, and after the war he spent two years teaching himself to sculpt in wood. In 1947 he had his first one-man show, of sculpture, at the Gimpel Fils Gallery in London. He also produced abstract paintings, but soon came to specialize in sculpture. After his one-man show he made several extended trips to Paris, where he became interested in the work of Brancusi and Julio González. In 1950 he received a Rockefeller award from the Institute of International Education to visit the USA. Having by then an established reputation, he was also commissioned to produce a 3-m high carving for the Festival of Britain in 1951.

In 1949 Adams began to work with metal and the same year was given a teaching post in industrial design at the Central School of Art and Design in London, which he held until 1960. While there he came into contact with Victor Pasmore and with the group of artists around him, which included Adrian Heath (b 1920), Anthony Hill, Kenneth Martin and Mary Martin. The group acted as a forum for Constructivist ideas in Britain and Adams exhibited with them from 1951 to 1956.  He was sympathetic to the group's aim of forging a link between art and architecture, and this was reflected in his vast mural relief for the Municipal Theatre at Gelsenkirchen in Germany, constructed in 1959 from reinforced concrete.

While teaching at the Central School Adams learnt how to weld and in 1955 began to produce constructions of sheet and rod elements, as in Tall Spike Forms (1956), which showed the influence of González and a move towards non-figuration. In 1962, together with Hubert Dalwood (1924–76), Adams represented British sculpture at the Venice Biennale. In 1966 he produced a large steel sculpture for the British Petroleum building in London, made from welded geometrical elements formed into a relief arrangement. In the 1970s and until his death Adams concentrated on bronze casts, which though still non-figurative were softer and less geometrical than before, as in Ovoid Variations (1980). Among his later public works was the large steel sculpture for Kingswell in Hampstead (1973), designed from a simple, Minimalist form. Adams died at Great Maplestead, Essex in 1984.

1937-46
Evening classes at Northampton School of Art

1949-61
Taught industrial design and sculpture at the Central School of Art, London

Selected Exhibitions

2009
Robert Adams, Gimpel Fils, London

2003
Robert Adams: A Retrospective, Gimpel Fils, London

1991
Heads, Gimpel Fils, London

1989
Sculptures, Reliefs and Drawings, Gimpel Fils, London

1988
Late Bronzes, Gimpel Fils, London

1986
British Sculpture 1950-65, New Arts Centre, London
Hampstead Artists 1946-86, Camden Arts Centre, London

1985
Recalling the 'fifties, Serpentine Gallery, London
Cornish and Contemporary, City Art Gallery, Worcester

1984
English Contrasts, Peintres et Sculpteurs Anglais 1950-1960, Galerie Artcurial, Paris
Modern Artists' Jewels, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

1983
Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts 154th Exhibition, Dublin

1982
Goethe Institute, Edinburgh, Christie's Contemporary Art, New York

1981
One-man exhibition, Lister Gallery, Perth, Australia
One-man exhibition, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York
British Sculpture in the Twentieth Century, Part I, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
British Sculpture in the Twentieth Century, Part II, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London

1980
First Day Covers, Newlyn-Orion Galleries, Penzance, Cornwall
One-man exhibition, Gimpel-Hanover, Zurich

1979
Millenaire de Bruxelles, Sculpture Europeene, Parc Malou, Brussels
Amnesty International Exhibition, Bristol Cathedral and St. Pauls, London
One-man exhibition, Gimpel-Hanover, Zurich

1978
25 Paintings from the Festival of Britain 1951, Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield
One-man exhibition, Gainsborough's House, Sudbury, Suffolk

1977
The Wavendon Season, The City Gallery, Little Brickhill, Milton Keynes, Bucks
Contemporary British Sculpture, Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Battersea Park, London
Sculpture in the open-air, Regents Park, London

1976
Aspects of Twentieth Century Art, David Jones Art Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture, Worksop Priory, 1974
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
One-man exhibition, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York

1972
British Sculptors' 72, Royal Academy, London
Open-air sculpture exhibition IV, Syon Park, London
Open-air sculpture exhibition, Holland Park, London

1971
Retrospective exhibition, City Art Gallery, Northampton. Toured by the Arts Council to Sheffield, Newcastle upon Tyne and the Camden Arts Centre, London
Realites Nouvelles 25 Salon, Paris
Open-air sculpture exhibition III, Syon Park, London
4th International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture, Musee Rodin, Paris

1970
Ten Sculptors, Two Cathedrals, Winchester and Salisbury Cathedras
Open-air sculpture exhibition II, Syon Park, London
Open-air sculpture exhibition, Edinburgh

1969
Sculpture and Reliefs, Gimpel Fils, London
Open-air sculpture exhibition, Blenheim Palace Garden Centre, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Open-air sculpture exhibition, Syon Park, London

1968
One-man exhibition, Bertha Schaefer Gallery, New York
Sculpture from the Arts Council Collection, toured form 1961 to 1968
British Sculpture, Cathedral ruins, Coventry
Festival of the City of London
Exhibition Twenty five Camden artists, Camden Festival, London
L'Art Vivant 1965-68, Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul de Vence, France
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London

1967
Carneige Festival, Dunfermline, British Sculpture 1952-1962, Brooke Park, Londonderry
Sculpture in Civic Settings, Hampstead Festival, London

1966
7th GLC Sculpture in the open-air exhibition, Battersea Park, London
5th International Sculpture Exhibition, Sonsbeek, Holland
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
Mixed exhibition, Bertha Schaefer Gallery, New York

1965
British Sculpture in the sixties, Tate Gallery, London
Sculpture from the Arts Council Collection, touring exhibition Collector's Choice XIII, Gimpel Fils, London

Fruhjahraustellung, Kunstverein, Hanover
Contemporary British Sculpture, Arts Council touring exhibition
Nine living British sculptors, Lalit Kala Akademi and British Council, India

1964
Profile III, Bochum, Germany Painting and Sculpture of a Decade '54-'64, Tate Gallery, London
Norwich Festival
Documenta III, Kassel, Germany
London Group 1914-64: Jubilee Exhibition, Tate Gallery, London
Hampstead artists 1943-64, Kenwood House, London
Contemporary British painting and Sculpture, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, USA
Recent British Sculpture, Japan and Hong Kong

1963
Sculptures from Venice Biennale, Kunsthalle, Basel
One-man exhibition, Bertha Schaefer Gallery, New York
Sculptures from Venice Biennale, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
Esquisse d'un Salon, Galerie Denise René, Paris
6th LCC Sculpture in the open-air, Battersea Park, London
Sculptures from Venice Biennale, Museum Prinsenhof, Delft
Sculptures from Venice Biennale, Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris
7th Biennale of Prints, Tokyo
International Graphic Exhibition, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
7th International Art Exhibition, Japan

1962

British Pavilion, XXXI Biennale, Venice, one man retrospective of 29 sculptures of 1951-62
Small Sculptures, Waddington Gallery, London
Contemporary British Sculpture, Arts Council touring exhibition
Sculptures from Venice Biennale, Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, Germany
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
British Art Today, Museum of Art, San Francisco
Twentieth Century British Art, Colouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon

1961
Contemporary British Sculpture, open-air touring exhibition organised by the Arts Council
Retrospective exhibition of sculpture, paintings and drawings, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull; Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
6th Congress of the International Union of Architects, South Bank, London
Hampstead Festival of Arts, Keats House, London
Recent British Sculpture, touring exhibition organised by the British Council and National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Three Constructivist Sculptors, Bertha Schaefer Gallery, New York

1960
Art Alive, Northampton Central Museum and Art Gallery Contemporary British Sculpture, Art Council touring exhibition5th LCC Sculpture in the open-air exhibition, Battersea Park, London
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
Living Art, National College of Art, Dublin

1959
5th Biennale de la sculpture, Middleheim Park, Antwerp

La Collaboration Internationale entre Artistes et Architectes dans la réalisation du Nouvel Opéra et Théâtre de Gelsenkirchen, Iris Clert Gallery, Paris
Carrara, Italy (second prize)
Fourteen European Sculptors, Staempfli Gallery, New York

1958
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
AIA 25th Anniversary Exhibition, London
The Religious Theme, Tate Gallery, London
Carnegie International Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh

1957
Statements, a review of British abstract art in 1956, ICA, London
One-man exhibition, Galerie Parnass, Wuppertal, Germany
Sculpture 1850 snd 1950, 4th LCC sculpture exhibition, Holland Park, London
Young British Sculptors, Pizarro Esmeralda, Buenos AiresLiving Art, Lords Gallery, London
Ten Young British Sculptors, IV Bienal, Sao Paulo
1st International Biennale Exhibition of Prints, Tokyo

1956
Aspects of Contemporary English Painting, Parsons Gallery, London
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
Penwith Society, St. IvesSculpture exhibition, AIA, London
Abstracts, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
This is Tomorrow, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
Penwith Society, St. Ives
1st International Exhibition of Sculpture, Musee Rodin, Paris
Young British Sculptors, Gallery Chalette, New York
Redfern Gallery, London
Recent Abstract Paintings, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

1955
Nine Abstract Artists, Redfern Gallery, London
Sculpture and Drawings by Young British Sculptors, The Art Club of Chicago
Contemporary art and design mainly by artists from St. Ives, Heals Mansard Gallery, London
One-man exhibition, Douglas College, Rutgers University, New Jersey

1954
Recent British Drawings, ICA, London
Cubism, Abstractionism, Sur-Realism, Formalism, Redfern Gallery, London
One-man exhibition, Victor Waddington Gallery, Dublin
Artisit v. Machine, Building Centre, London
3rd LCC international exhibition of Sculpture in the open-air, Holland Park, London
Collages and Objects, ICA, London

1953
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
3rd weekend exhibition of Abstract Art, 22 Fitzroy Street, London
Sculpture in the Home, Arts Council
Coronation Exhibition of Contemporary British Painting, Redfern Gallery, London
2nd Biennale de la Sculpture, Middleheim Park, Antwerp
Coronation Exhibition, Penwith Society, St. Ives
New Trends in English Sculpture, Heffer Gallery, Cambridge
Painting into Textiles, ICA, London

1952
Galleria Origine, Rome
1st weekend of exhibition of Abstract Art, 22 Fitzroy Street, London
La Jeune Gravure Contemporaine, Musee National d'Art Moderne, Paris
Redfern Gallery, London
Seven British Contemporary Artists, Black Hall, St. Giles, Oxford
Tendances de la Peinture et de la Sculpture Britanniques Contemporaines, Galerie de France, Paris
New Aspects of British Sculpture, British Pavilion, XXVI Biennale, Venice
2nd weekend of exhibition of Abstract Art, 22 Fitzroy Street, London

1951
London Group, New Burlington Galleries, London
British Section of 15th Anniversary Invitiation Exhibition organised by American Abstract Artists, New York
Abstract Paintings, Sculpture, Mobiles, Artists International Association Gallery, London
One-man exhibtion, Gimpel Fils, London
I Bienal, Sao Paulo
British Abstract Art, Gimpel Fils, London
London Group, New Burlington Galleries, London
Redfern Gallery, London
Young Sculptors, ICA, London

1950
London-Paris, New trends in painting and sculpture, Institute of Contemporary Arts, New Burlington Galleries, London
Drawings of Contemporary British Sculptors, British Council tour of Belgium
Artistes Anglais Contemporains, British Council tour of France
The Private Collector, Tate Gallery, London
One-man exhibition, Passedoit Gallery, New York
Redfern Gallery, London
Summer exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
Sculpture in the Home, Arts Council, New Burlington Galleries, London
Institute of International Education, New York
London Painter-Printers, Redfern Gallery, London

1949
One-man exhibtion, Gimpel Fils, London
One-man exhibition, Galerie Jeanne Bucher, Paris
4th Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Paris
Summer exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London
London Group, New Burlington Galleries, London
Winter exhibition, Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street, London

1947
Background to Ballet, Gimpel Fils, London
Irish Exhibition of Living Art, National College of Art, Dublin
One-man exhibition, Gimpel Fils, London

1946
Artists of fame and promise, Leicester Galleries, London
St. George's Gallery, London

1942-4
6th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
7th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
8th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
11th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
12th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
14th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
15th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
16th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
17th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London
20th Exhibition of Civil Defence Artists, Cooling Galleries, London

Robert Adams
Untitled drawings for figure sculptures c.1948
blue ink
12 x 17 1/2 in / 30.5 x 44.5 cm