WORK OF THE WEEK : Laura Ford, ‘Waldegrave Poodles’, 2015
Laura Ford
Waldegrave Poodles, 2015
Patinated bronze
68 x 33 x 75 cm (each poodle)
2ft 2 x 1ft ⁹⁄₁₀ x 2ft 5 in.
Cast 1 of 6 + 2 APs
Laura Ford (b.1961) creates imaginative and fantastical figures - often in bronze - that are simultaneously endearing and uncanny. Made for Ford's 2015 solo exhibition at Strawberry Hill, the Waldegrave Poodles draw directly upon Sir Joshua Reynolds' 1780 portrait 'The Ladies Waldegrave', commissioned by Horace Walpole. Ford transforms the three young women into "pampered dogs ready to be paraded and judged at Crufts". The Waldegrave Poodles explore the artist's concerns around gender and power, visibility and invisibility.
Laura Ford represented Wales in the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005. Notable solo shows have taken place at the Camden Arts Centre, London; the Arnolfini, Bristol; The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh; The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Connecticut, USA, and Strawberry Hill, London. Laura Ford's work is included in many public collections, including the Government Art Collection, the Tate Collection, National Museum and Galleries of Wales, Cardiff, Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park, Michigan, USA and The Gateway Foundation, St. Louis, USA.
Laura Ford's Waldegrave Poodles were recently sited on the Summer House lawn, Roche Court Sculpture Park.
Listen in at Roche Court Podcast
Laura Ford in conversation
Join us ‘in conversation’ with Laura Ford and GCSE Art students from Pewsey Vale school, discussing topics including the impact of childhood upon Ford’s career, her experience as a woman artist, and in particular, her intriguing sculpture ‘Espaliered Girl’ previously on display at Roche Court Sculpture Park.
Laura Ford, Nature Girls, 1998, Bronze. Photograph © Laura Ford, 2023