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Clatworthy grew up in rural Somerset, which it seems inspired many of his works: heavily textured bronze sculptures of animals. Speaking about one of his bulls, which was commissioned by the London County Council to stand on Wandsworth’s Alton Estate, Historic England described Clatworthy’s art as “shaggy expressionism”.

The artist briefly worked as an assistant to fellow sculptor Henry Moore, before achieving his own success in the 1950s. In the 1980s, the artist stopped courting the metropolitan art world and moved to a remote part of Wales to live a secluded creative life that began at 4.30am each day. Believing that his work “must stand on its own without the need of words to support it”, he refuted almost all conversations about his art, including buying offers – apparently burying many of his bronzes in the garden.