The expressive qualities in Kenneth Armitage's figures invariably are shown through the way in which he articulates the hands and arms - an open or closed fist, the arms crossed or extended. Of the series of July Figures - there are four versions - Armitage wrote: ".. a series of figures that are different from others: they don't combine geometry and I call them the July figures, They were made from 1975 to 1982 and were all standing figures with one feature in common: the forearms were sticking out in front. The reason for this was that we had heatwaves for several summers; it was so hot that I noticed I was walking round the studio sticking out my arms rather than folding them. My sculptures followed that; they were bronze figures with black hair."