When approached by John Lewis to produce a sculpture for their Oxford Street department store Barbara Hepworth’s initial submission was the present work, 'Maquette, Three Forms in Echelon', 1961. Although the proposal was ultimately rejected in favour of 'Winged Figure I', 1957, which remains on the side of the building to this day, Hepworth remained convinced of the strength of the former composition stating, “the way I work, is to get at an idea subconsciously and then pursue that formally, with quite considerable belief, within myself, that the formal content will speak back to the public. In this case, the harmony and relationship of the three rising forms, would, I suspect, provoke some interest subconsciously in the harmonious relationship which exists in the Partnership.”

It was in fact the harmony within an earlier work, 'Meridian', 1958-60, which had drawn the John Lewis board to her work in the first place. They felt 'Meridian' exemplified what the company stood for, ‘the idea of common ownership and common interest in a partnership of thousands of workers “of which the purpose is to increase the happiness of its own members while giving good service to the community.”’ The value which the company placed on these communal values resonated strongly with Hepworth. This was a period of notable success and high profile commissions (including for the United Nations building in New York) but her enthusiasm for the project extended beyond a desire to work on a monumental scale and was a reflection of her ideological concern for the preservation and support of post-war community, and the artist’s wider role within society.

Such was Hepworth’s enthusiasm for the composition she persevered with it and for many years harboured hopes of executing it on a monumental scale. She held on to the maquette plasters and aluminium armature in her studio, hung high on the wall to enable her to envision viewpoint of the fully realised work. The present cast was produced a few years later, in 1965. Other casts are held in the Tate Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto and University of Exeter, Fine Art Collection.