Standing Figure is a small bronze sculpture in Kenneth Armitage's favourite medium that combines his passion both for the human form and the human condition. His work is rooted in the figurative anthropomorphism, which emerged in 1950s Britain, influenced by the traumas of the Second World War, particularly the Holocaust, and the subsequent nuclear threat. These events raised profound questions about, and a new understanding of, human nature, expressed through the jagged forms of so-called ‘Geometry of Fear’ sculptures like Armitage's and the melancholic paintings of everyday life by artists such as Jack Smith and Derek Greaves, capturing the dramatic weight of this historical moment.