Vaughan’s free-standing sculptures were never exhibited during his life. Only two were cast in bronze. Originally modelled in wax, they were conceived as explorations of formal problems related to his painting. In June 1960 his journal notes that he was working on wax pieces. That year he completed two major oil paintings: Standing Figure and Standing Figure – Kouros, both of which depict comparable, forward-facing male subjects. He also made his first visit to Greece the same year and it is possible that the ancient sculptures he encountered there inspired him to create his own experimental figurines.

Vaughan’s friend Peter Adam recalled in his memoir Anatomy of a Friendship: ‘Years earlier, Keith had made small figures – a bending nude and a torso. As a surprise, Prunella [Clough] had them cast in bronze and these figures, the only sculptures he had ever made, gave him much pleasure.’ While Vaughan was in hospital recovering from surgery, Clough had arranged for an edition of nine bronzes to be cast of both Standing Figure and Bending Figure. The original clay models were destroyed during the process. As Vaughan’s executor, she took possession of the plaster mould for Standing Figure, following his death in 1977. This was inherited by Adam who, subsequently, had five additional casts made, including this example.

The original clay surface of Standing Figure is modelled with a confident, purposeful hand. Conceived on an intimate scale, it is a fully realised form in the round. The dark, polished patina invites a play of light, which catches the rough anatomical contours and animates the expressive surface.