Dame Elisabeth Frink CH DBE RA,
British 19301993-
 
Walking Man, 1989;
 

Dame Elisabeth Frink CH DBE RA,

British 19301993-

Walking Man, 1989;

bronze, signed and numbered on base 'Frink 6/8', 53.3(H) x 17.8(W) x 29.5(D) including base (ARR)

Provenance: The Geoffrey and Fay Elliot collection. Lumley Cazelet Ltd, London; private collection, purchased from the above in October 1998; thence by descent

Literature: Exhibition catalogue, 'Elisabeth Frink: Recent Sculpture and Drawings', Fischer Fine Art, London, 1989 (another cast illustrated); Exhibition catalogue, 'Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture, Drawings, Etchings', Compass Gallery, Glasgow, 1990 (another cast illustrated); Exhibition catalogue, 'Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture and Drawings 1950-1990', National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., 1990 (another cast illustrated); E. Lucie-Smith, 'Elisabeth Frink, Sculpture since 1984 and Drawings',London, 1994, p.189, no.SC53 (another cast illustrated); A. Ratuszniak (ed.), 'Elisabeth Frink Catalogue Raisonne of Sculpture 1947-1993', London, 2013, p.184, no.FCR382 (another cast illustrated)

Exhibited: Fischer Fine Art, London, 'Elisabeth Frink: Recent Sculpture and Drawings', 5th October - 9th November 1989 (another cast); Compass Gallery, Glasgow, 'Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture, Drawings, Etchings', August 1990 (another cast); National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., 'Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture and Drawings 1950-1990', 1990 (another cast)

Note: This powerful sculpture displays one of the artists most characteristic and unique themes; the walking man. Central to Frink's work is a sense of energy and action, perhaps influenced by her experiences of soldiers in the Second World. Depicted naked, her figures evoke both strength and vulnerability, combined with a timeless quality, that is at once ancient and modern.

Frink was one of very few artists who focused on the male figure in her work, setting her apart from her contemporaries. However, the walking figure was a subject much grappled with in the Post-War period, including by her contemporary Alberto Giacometti. The artist made a series of these works in the mid to late 1980s. Examples from the series can be found in collections including the Ingram Collection, Dorset County Museum and the Tate.

Elisabeth Frink is one of the most celebrated British artists of the 20th century, her sculptors amongst the most recognised in the country. Her public works are found in locations including Coventry Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Dover Street, London and the High Street, Winchester. Recently, her work has been subject to major retrospectives at Hauser & Wirth, Bruton in 2017, Kendal, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, in 2018 and The Lightbox, Woking in 2019. The artist had her first exhibition with Lumley Cazelet in 1989.