An exhibition comprising 17 small sculptures, with 33 drawings and prints by the same artists. It provided a good introduction to the history of sculpture in Britain from the 1950s to the late 1970s and included characteristic work by leading sculptors of the period. The Council’s collection is rich in works by sculptors whose influence in the 1950s was internationally significant. Most recently the greater scale of experimental sculpture and its use of non-traditional, often fragile materials, limited purchases and the exhibition cannot therefore be regarded as a comprehensive survey. It was selected to show something of the development of British sculpture as exemplified by many of its principal artists.

The exhibition originated in 1982 and was disbanded in 1994. A catalogue, with an introduction by Muriel Wilson (curator) and brief biographical notes on the artists, was published to accompany the exhibition.