Kenneth Armitage was born in Leeds into an Anglo-Irish family. He studied at Leeds College of Art (1934–37) and at the Slade (1937–39) before serving in the army during the Second World War. Afterwards, he taught sculpture at Bath Academy of Art until 1956; and also held a fellowship in sculpture at Leeds University (1953–55). His first solo exhibition was held at Gimpel Fils, London in 1952 – further solo exhibitions included shows in New York, Paris, Cologne and Tokyo. In 1959 the Whitechapel Art Gallery held his first retrospective show.
During the 1960s and ‘70s, Armitage won several awards and held a number of teaching positions including Visiting Professorships at the University of Caracas (1964) and the Royal College of Art (from 1974). He was awarded the CBE in 1969. Armitage continued to exhibit his work internationally until his death in 2002. His work is represented in numerous public collections around the world, including Tate, London; the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris; the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Venice; and MOMA, New York.
