William Chattaway - Walking Figure

Chattaway was born in Coventry in 1927. He attended Coventry School of Art from 1943-5 and the Slade from 1945-8, before settling permanently in Paris in 1950. The original Walking Figure was created in 1968 and is much influenced by Alberto Giacometti's walking figures of the 1950s and 60s. Chattaway explores the armless female form, considering spatial relationships and the concept of movement within a single, life-size work. The original piece was conceived as part of a Triple Group (1968) with a seated figure and one lying horizontally.

Stanley Burton had enjoyed a close friendship with Chattaway and had been elected to serve on the University of Leeds Council in 1952 and was subsequently appointed Chairman of Bodington Hall, the University's new student hall of residence completed in 1963.

Stanley commissioned a replica of the version of the standing figure from the original triple group, which was installed outside on the grounds of Bodington Hall. In the 1980s, however, Walking Figure was severely damaged by students and one leg was destroyed beyond repair. Ever supportive of the University, Stanley intervened again and organised with Chattaway to recast the sculpture. This later cast is now displayed for security reasons within Parkinson Court, where it is seen by thousands of students, staff and visitors each year. Bodington Hall closed in 2013 and the damaged original sculpture was displayed in the garden of the Burton family home, Fulwith Brow.