The Cass Sculpture Foundation is a charity, recognised internationally as the home of 21st century British sculpture.
The charity's key objective is to enable the future of British sculpture today. Over the past 15 years, we have commissioned more than 160 large-scale sculptures from over 120 British artists.
Cass Sculpture Foundation commissions several new large-scale sculptures each year, funded by the sale of previously commissioned works. By doing so, the Foundation continues to provide support and promotion for contemporary British sculpture as well as a unique aesthetic experience for its many visitors.
Our foundation seeks to enhance the general public's enjoyment and appreciation of the strength and quality of twenty-first century British sculpture.
Commissioning Process and Archive
Established by private collectors Wilfred and Jeannette Cass in 1992, the Cass Sculpture Foundation is a registered charity acknowledged throughout the world as an important home of 21st century British sculpture.
Set up to promote current British sculpture, the Foundation's mission statement is "enabling the future of British sculpture today." To achieve this it commissions, displays, promotes internationally and sells monumental sculptures to a diverse range of buyers from around the world - from private collectors, to individual enterprises, to public spaces, to the business community at large - and over 160 monumental sculptures have been commissioned and sold around the world in the last 15 years.
Based in Goodwood near Chichester, in the heart of West Sussex, the Foundation occupies a magical 26 acres of unspoilt ancient woodland within which over 70 regularly changing monumental works by over 50 carefully selected and innovative British sculptors are on display; artists at all stages of their careers from just out of college to sculptors on the international stage.
Each year the Foundation commissions 12-15 large scale sculptures and numerous smaller works (maquettes). With a commission, the artist is supported through a system that covers the casting or fabrication cost of each new work, and which encourages artists to realise sculptures that would otherwise be beyond their financial reach. When a sculpture, whether large or small, is sold the Foundation receives back its financial outlay and a percentage to cover its overheads, the major proceeds going to the artist.
Continually looking to the future, the Foundation has now built and opened a stunning new Foundation Centre to be the home for its extensive and ever-expanding reference library and archive. Contained within its own special 'Chamber', the archive houses sketches, final drawings, maquettes and other materials created by the sculptors during the commissioning process and is a major treasure trove and information centre for researchers, property developers, architects and artists worldwide. A resource that will grow ever more significant as each year goes by. Artists donate past catalogues and new publications on their work to the library, which adds to the wealth of written material assembled since the conception of the charity in 1992.
The library also holds books and catalogues from international sculptors and also volumes on fabricating methods, garden management, historical art and reference works. Books on international sculpture parks and gardens reflect the travels undertaken by the Founders during the planning process, many of which are now out of print.
'the Cass Sculpture Foundation is in the unique position of having established an unparalleled access and relationship with all aspiring and established British sculptors'
The commissioning process is well recorded, and documentation relating to the production of sculptures and their installation in the Foundation's grounds is held on file. Records contain visual as well as written and statistical information, and tell the story of how the sculpture commission came about, its realisation, installation and any other information that may occur during these processes. Some are straightforward, others contain complex instructions for footings and installation, crane requirements, logistics for moving and transporting the sculpture, conservation matters, care, recipes for treating wood and metal, and legal details such as artist contracts, sales and loans. The majority of this information is kept digitally.A key part of the commissioning process is the collection of sculptors' drawings and models (maquettes) which relate to new commissions from the Foundation. These are given by the sculptors under the terms of the commissioning agreement.
The drawings are startling in their scale and in the range of mediums the artists have used. Differing approaches to making drawings are evident in the collection; some are original plans of a technical nature, some are visions, others are reflections about sculpture. Some drawings are as monumental as the sculptures they represent. One charcoal drawing by Peter Randall-Page, an impression of a sculpture before it was made, measures 200cm x 300cm. Intricate drawings by Allen Jones of Temple and Shirazeh Houshiary's technical specifications for The Extended Shadow show different ways of working on ideas for sculptures. Each drawing has a unique relationship with its sculpture.
Unlike any other British or international organisation or business associated with British sculptors today, the Cass Sculpture Foundation is in the unique position of having established an unparalleled access and relationship with all aspiring and established British sculptors.