Set in 26 acres of beautiful woodland, The Cass Sculpture Foundation was set up 12 years ago by Wilfred and Jeanette Cass to support British Artists. Jonathan Keeble discovers why.

One of the first things you see as you head down the tree-lined driveway is a fish riding a bicycle. Move on and there's a striking blue and yellow woman with four arms, stood on a four metre high plinth. Your journey into the Cass Sculpture Foundation continues like this before you even realise you have arrived; objects appear in clearings through the trees - all of which are the work of British Artists.

Sculptures such as Steven Gregory's Fish on a Bicycle and Allen Jones' Temple exist only because of the vision of Wilfred Cass and his wife Jeannette.

Just over 12 years ago the couple set up the Cass Foundation to promote and advance British Sculpture. They had just moved to the estate at Goodwood and were about to retire. "We were peering out at the few pieces of sculpture we already owned - a Frink, a Moore and one or two others," says Wilfred. "We asked ourselves a question: Are we going to keep collecting sculpture in a casual way and have the whole lot split up at auction when we die, or shall we try something more ambitious?"

Indeed, the project the couple were about to begin was possibly the most ambitious British Art has ever seen. Set in 26 acres of beautiful woodland, it's both a gallery and trading floor. Artists are commissioned to produce the work of their dreams and the foundation pays for it to be made. Everything on show is for sale with prices ranging from around £10,000 to £500,000. Once a buyer is found, the foundation takes back its costs, splits the money with the artist and then puts what's left back into the pot, ready for the next commission. So far, the foundation has enabled more than 100 pieces to be made, commissioning all kinds of artists from the well-known to the straight out of college. John Davies, Peter Burke, William Pye and Tony Cragg are to name but a few. "We knew there were so many wonderful British artists but you would only ever see their work abroad," explains Wilfred. "There was nowhere in this country where you could see their work on this scale."

Now 81 , Wlfred runs the foundation with the same acumen and guile he used in the world of business when he was in his own words a "company doctor." From 1987 to 1991, Wilfred was chairman and chief executive of Moss Bros PLC, reorganising the whole of the troubled group, moving and selling its head office, starting a new range of suit shops and buying Cecil Gee PLC. And in 1979, Wilfred Cass and his son Mark started The Image Bank UK, part of the world's largest supplier of film and photography for the advertising industry.

This was sold in 2001 to Getty Images. "I certainly lean on my experience of working with companies," he adds. "I was certain I didn't want to set something up which had massive overheads and lots of staff." Wilfred is quick to point out that the sculpture garden is not simply an extension of his own collection. "I don't even like everything you know. When it comes to commissioning, the one thing to do is not just pick the ones you necessarily like." For obvious reasons, artists are very keen to have their work commissioned by Wilfred. Not only are their production costs met and their work seen by collectors but the hard reality is that without the Cass Foundation their designs would never be made. The foundation receives daily enquiries from artists, all desperate to have their work made.

"We go through a long process here. We start by commissioning a maquette; that lives with us for awhile, visitors see it and pass comment and we can then make a decision about whether to commission a full scale version. The whole commissioning process is probably the easiest thing we have to do.

"I would say the most difficult thing is coping with the fact that we are outside the traditional circuit. It is difficult to attract people to us, and particularly the collectors down from London. You have to remember that we are outside the art circuit of the big game players, but we need these people to come and buy the art we have on show."

Wilfred is convinced the foundation will one day become one of the most important developments in British Art. He says: "The foundation will be the home of British Sculpture. No other country has done this. There's no other country where you can go and find the best of that nation's sculpture in one place."

And his favourite parts of the garden? "I always say my favourite piece is always the last one we have commissioned," he says. "You spend so much time working on something that it has so much influence over you, a good piece will talk to you and say 'l just have to be made'. A piece has to have impact. It must make an impression on you whether that's a good or bad one."

Article by Jonathan Keeble, first published in the July edition of Sussex Life.