Historical information

Inspired by the opening lines of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1820 poem of the same title, The Cloud has grace of line that epitomises the model of classically informed beauty. Richardson’s figure successfully follows the serpentine line of Art Nouveau sculpture while also echoing the influence of British New Sculpture with its focused attention to bodily detail and surface articulation.
A bronze version of The Cloud was cast in 1987 and can be seen in the formal garden between the Brighton Town Hall and the Brighton Library.

Physical description

plaster patinated with paint and ground copper