Elizabeth Frink (1930-1992) CH DBE RA

Elisabeth Frink was a leading figure in British sculpture. She studied at the Chelsea School of Art from 1949-1953 and was part of the post-war group of British sculptors, which included Kenneth Armitage and Eduardo Paolozzi, who became known as the Geometry of Fear school. Her sculptures, drawings and prints were and continue to be widely exhibited and purchased for public and private collections throughout the world.

During her lifetime she was awarded many public commissions to create sculpture for public spaces and buildings worldwide. Inspired by her upbringing surrounded by nature but also the horrors of World War II, the subject matter of her roughly cast bronze sculpture ranged from sculptures of animals to torture and state tyranny for Amnesty International in the 1970s. Her sculptures embody the great themes that she explored throughout her career; the ambiguities of human relationships, injustice and impermanence that also have such impact on the animal world and the earth. Using the forms of men, animals and birds, she employed their shapes as vehicles to convey emotion, vulnerability, aggression.