Focusing in on Anton Smit’s sculpture mini series around our seven interlocking lakes  

Around our woodland gardens, visitors can find a series of works by Anton Smit, named the Ladies of the Lakes; these pieces are different from anything visitors have seen while walking through the gardens.  

While other artists explore different aspects and themes, Anton Smit did not explore pure abstraction in any great depth. Instead, he has used abstract elements to depict both the female and the male forms throughout his career. The Ladies of the Lakes speed figures are prime examples of semi-abstract works by Smit. This series maintains realism in the facial features while using abstract elements in other body forms by elongating the overall human form. 

The Ladies of the Lakes speed figures

Ghemo Speed, created in 1989, is a reclining figure in the tradition of Venus the Roman Goddess of Love. Since Greco-Roman times she has been depicted as a semi-nude figure swathed in drapery.  In the Renaissance, this pose was celebrated by artists such as Titan. Here we see the genre brought up to date using elements of abstraction. Among the features of this figure are the drapery arms, and realistic hand in the face and an elongated torso from the knees to the toes. 

The speed title is all about the pressures of modern life. Smit repeats this format in the other works in the series. The sculpture Penny Speed, named after Penny Streeter OBE owner of Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, produced 32 years later in 2021 shows that this stylistic form has inspired Smit over a long period of time. The other works in this series are Kunow Speed and Rulene Speed. 

Anton Smit Speed Figures 

Even though at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens we only have four of the speed figures in the Ladies of the Lakes series, Anton Smit has made four others called Ferreria Speed, Lisa Speed, Ludwig Speed and Marcelle Speed. This series of semi-abstract reclining figures are complemented by a number of life-size highly realistic female nudes who provide visual contrast between modernism and the traditional sculptural representation of the human form.  

Want to expand your art collection? All Anton Smit’s sculptures at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens are for sale. Contact Veronica Olsson at veronica.olsson@leonardsleegardens.co.uk to find out more.