Elliot Davies’ New Exhibition, Ancient Form | Modern Vision

Founded in 2018, LAPADA Member Elliot Davies is a leading dealer in European Sculpture. His new exhibition, Ancient Form | Modern Vision: The Radical Legacy of Antiquity in Twentieth Century British Art, presented in collaboration with Willoughby Gerrish, runs from 1 May to 3 July 2026 at 16 Savile Row, London. The exhibition explores how Ancient Western sculpture shaped the imagination of twentieth-century British artists, bringing together antiquities with works by figures including Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, William Turnbull, Kenneth Armitage, William Staite Murray and Emily Young.

The exhibition traces the resonance of antiquity from the Early Bronze Age to the Roman period, placing ancient objects in dialogue with modern and contemporary British Art. Ben Nicholson’s collection provides a compelling point of departure, with one highlight being a fragmentary Cycladic torso. Nicholson saw Cycladic art as especially close to his own work, recognising its simplified forms as a visual language that felt ancient and modern.

Henry Moore was deeply drawn to the simplicity and purity of Cycladic sculpture, which he first encountered at the British Museum in the 1920s. Its influence can be felt in his approach to the human figure, where form is often simplified without losing emotional depth. In works such as Mother and Child on Ladderback Chair, Moore combines a sense of ancient stillness with a deeply human subject, using the relationship between parent and child as a way to explore broader ideas of protection and human experience

Hepworth’s relationship with antiquity was deepened by her travels to Greece and the Cycladic islands in 1954, which profoundly influenced her imagination. She was captivated by the Aegean landscape, ancient sites and the clarity of Cycladic forms. This influence can be seen in the stillness, balance and simplified geometry of her sculpture. Like the ancient objects she admired, Hepworth’s work connects the human body with landscape, material and timeless form.

The exhibition also shows how antiquities continue to leave a lasting impression on artists today, particularly through the work of Emily Young, whose contemporary stone carvings are reminiscent of ancient forms. Young is often described as one of Britain’s leading contemporary stone sculptors. Young’s carvings are rooted in the ancient tradition of direct carving, and her use of marble gives her work a strong connection to classical sculpture. Inspired by the art of the Mediterranean and the Near East.

The exhibition brings into focus a historical influence that is often overlooked: the role of antiquity in shaping modern artistic language. By placing ancient objects alongside twentieth-century and contemporary British art, Ancient Form | Modern Vision reveals how forms created thousands of years ago helped inform modern ideas of abstraction, materiality and the human figure. It shows that antiquity is not a lost or distant source of inspiration, but a continuing force in artistic innovation.

Exhibition runs until 3 July, 2026. For more information – www.elliotdavies.art.