Elisabeth Frink Art
British, 1930-1993
Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink was an influential English sculptor and printmaker whose work captured the complexities of the post-war era. Born in Thurlow, Suffolk, she studied at Guildford School of Art (1946–1949) under Willi Soukop, and at Chelsea School of Art (1949–1953). Frink emerged as a key figure among the Geometry of Fear sculptors, a group of post-war British artists including Reg Butler, Bernard Meadows, Kenneth Armitage, and Eduardo Paolozzi. Her oeuvre encompassed themes of masculinity, strength, and struggle, frequently depicting men, birds, dogs, and horses but rarely female forms. Her powerful sculptures and prints evoke the raw emotional aftermath of war.
Frink's early years in wartime Suffolk left a profound impression on her art. She gained international recognition at the 1952 Venice Biennale, where Herbert Read hailed her as "the most vital, the most brilliant and the most promising" artist of the event. Her early success, such as Bird (1952, Tate, London), showcased her distinctive approach, blending menace and grace in avian forms. Her innovative bronze sculptures, characterised by rugged, worked surfaces, broke with traditional modelling techniques.
The 1960s and 1970s marked a period of experimentation. While living in France, she produced the monumental Goggled Heads, haunting male figures exuding threat and alienation. Returning to England, her focus shifted to male nudes with powerful, barrel-chested forms and textured surfaces, exemplified by Running Man (1976, Carnegie Museum of Art).
In the 1980s, Frink's career reached new heights. A retrospective at the Royal Academy in 1985 cemented her legacy, despite a demanding schedule that included major commissions like Dorset Martyrs in Dorchester. She continued to work tirelessly, contributing to public art projects, mentoring students, and serving on advisory committees. Even after being diagnosed with cancer in 1991, Frink persisted in her creative endeavors, producing her final monumental work, Risen Christ for Liverpool Cathedral, installed just days before her death on April 18, 1993.
Frink's impact on sculpture extends beyond her life. Notable works like Warhorse and Walking Madonna are displayed at Chatsworth House, while Desert Quartet (1990) earned Grade II* listing in 2007, a rare honor for a contemporary piece. Her commitment to figurative art inspired the creation of the Frink School of Figurative Sculpture in 1996, a tribute to her artistic vision.
David Bowie counted her among his favorite artists, owning several of her works. As Frink herself believed, sculpture transcends function, existing as an independent and sacrosanct object, harmonising with its environment while commanding a profound presence—a philosophy vividly embodied in her enduring legacy.to
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Artist: Elisabeth Frink
Dame Elisabeth Frink Bronze Relief Statue Of Man And Eagle Numbered 1/7 Maquette
By Elisabeth Frink
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Dame Elisabeth Frink.
English ( b.1930 - d.1993 ).
Maquette For Man And Eagle.
Bronze With Gold Brown Patina.
Signed And Numbered 1/7 Lower Left.
Size 8.7 inches x 10.2 inches ( 22cm x 26cm ).
Depth 2.8 inches ( 7cm ).
Weight 7.1lb ( 3.24KG).
Available for sale; this original bronze plaque with raised relief is by Dame Elisabeth Frink and was conceived and cast in 1967.
The maquette is presented and supplied unmounted. There is the option to hang the plaque from 2 rings applied to the rear when in previous ownership.
This vintage bronze plaque...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Elisabeth Frink Art
Materials
Bronze
Hawk Bird Of Prey Framed Original Mid 20th Century Powerful Watercolor Painting
By Elisabeth Frink
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Dame Elisabeth Frink.
English ( b.1930 - d.1993 ).
Hawk, 1969.
Watercolor.
Signed & Dated Lower Right.
Image size 25.4 inches x 19.5 inches ( 64.5cm x 49.5cm ).
Frame size 34.4 inches x 28.1 inches ( 87.5cm x 71.5cm ).
Available for sale; this original painting is by Dame Elisabeth Frink and is dated 1969.
The painting is presented and supplied in a glazed frame and mount dating from June 1997.
This vintage watercolor is in very good condition, commensurate with its age.
The watercolor is signed and dated lower right.
Previously with Beaux Arts, London and Bath in 1999.
Dame Elisabeth Frink was one of Britain’s most important post-war sculptors, an accomplished draughtsman, illustrator and teacher. She was part of the post-war school of expressionist British sculptors dubbed the Geometry of Fear, and enjoyed a highly acclaimed career that was commercially successful, broke boundaries and contributed greatly to bringing wonderful sculpture to public places.
She was born on 14 November 1930 in Thurlow, the daughter of a cavalry officer, and brought up in rural Suffolk near to an active airbase. She was brought up a Catholic and educated at the Convent of the Holy Family, Exmouth.
She then studied at the Guildford School of Art from 1947-1949 under Willi Soukop and Henry Moore’s assistant, Bernard Meadows, and then at the Chelsea School in London 1949-1953. She taught at Chelsea School of Art 1951-61, St. Martin’s School of Art 1954-62 and was a visiting instructor at the Royal College of Art 1965-1967, after which she lived in France until 1973.
Frink first came to the attention of the public in 1951 at an exhibition at the Beaux Arts Gallery, London. In 1952 she represented Britain at the Venice Biennale, being described by Herbert Read as “the most vital, the most brilliant and the most promising of the whole Biennale”. The same year the Tate bought its first work by her, and she began to enjoy commercial success. Thereafter she exhibited regularly and was for 27 years associated with Waddington’s, London.
The subjects which Frink was most concerned with were man, dog and horses, with and without riders. Interestingly she seldom sculpted the female form, drawing on archetypes of masculine strength, struggle and aggression. Her work has the recurring themes of the vulnerable and the predatory, in the spirit of an authentic post-war artist. It has been said that she was more concerned with representing mankind that portraits of individuals.
The appeal of her work lies in its directness, provoking a frank statement of feeling. The anatomy is often exaggerated or incorrect; the impact growing more out of her interest in the spirit of the subject. Her animals and birds may be drawn from nature but verge on the abstract, conveying raw emotion and character rather than a realistic depiction. Her unique style is characterised by a rough treatment of the surface which embeds each piece with vitality and her personal impression. In her later work even the distinction between human and bird figures becomes blurred. Commentators have noted that the often rugged, brutal and contorted surfaces of her work reflect the destruction and terror of the six-year world-wide conflict that she witnessed as a child. Frink was an active supporter of Amnesty International.
In the 1960s and early 1970s Frink produced a notable series of falling figures and winged men. Later, living in France during the Algerian war, she began making heads, blinded by goggles which had a threatening facelessness.
Frink produced many notable public commissions, including Wild Boar for Harlow New Town, Blind Beggar and Dog for Bethnal Green, Noble Horse and Rider for Piccadilly, London, a lectern for Coventry Cathedral, Shepherd for Paternoster Square beside St. Paul’s Cathedral and a Walking Madonna for Salisbury Cathedral. In the early 1980s she produced a set of three larger than life figures The Dorset Martyrs which stand on the edge of the old walled town of Dorchester on the site of the old gallows, as a memorial to those who had been executed there ‘for conscience sake’.
Frink’s Canterbury Tales was a collection of 19 etchings drawn directly on to copper plates and etched by her. The ‘book’ was issued in three limited editions. Her illustrations have been praised as “amongst the most successful illustrations of the century, encompassing the mood of the text in concise delineations and disarmingly ribald humour”. She illustrated other books with colored lithographs or drawings.
Frink was on the Board of Trustees, British Museum from 1976, and was a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission 1976-81. CBR (1969), DBE ((1982), Associate of the Royal Academy (1971), Royal Academy (1977). She was made a Companion of Honour in 1992. She died on 18 April 1993, but not before completing her last commission, a monumental but unusual figure of Christ for the front of the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool, unveiled a week before her death.
For several decades Frink exhibited widely in the UK and abroad. In her later years she lived and worked in Dorset where her home and garden became an arena for her work.
In 1985 she had a retrospective at the Royal Academy. She died on 18 April 1993, but not before completing her last commission, a monumental but unusual figure of Christ for the front of the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool, unveiled a week before her death. There was a memorial show at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Bretton Hall in 1994.
Today Frink is venerated as one of the great twentieth century British sculptors. Her unique work is represented in the Tate Gallery and major public and private collections world-wide.
© Big Sky Fine Art
This original watercolor on paper painting of a hawk by Dame Elizabeth Frink...
Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Elisabeth Frink Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Wild Boar, from Images by Elisabeth Frink, 1967
By Elisabeth Frink
Located in Kingsclere, GB
Wild Boar, from Images by Elisabeth Frink, 1967
Additional information:
Medium: lithograph
79 x 59 cm
31 1/8 x 23 1/4 in
signed and inscribed 'D' in pencil
Dame Elisabeth Jean Frank was an English sculptor and printmaker.
Born in Thurlow, Suffolk, Frink studied at the Guildford School of Art (1946–1949), under Willi Soukop...
Category
20th Century Elisabeth Frink Art
Materials
Lithograph
Bull, from Images by Elisabeth Frink, 1967
By Elisabeth Frink
Located in Kingsclere, GB
Bull, from Images by Elisabeth Frink, 1967
Additional information:
Medium: lithograph
79 x 59 cm
31 1/8 x 23 1/4 in
signed and inscribed 'D' in pencil
Dame Elisabeth Jean Frank was an English sculptor and printmaker.
Born in Thurlow, Suffolk, Frink studied at the Guildford School of Art (1946–1949), under Willi Soukop...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Elisabeth Frink Art
Materials
Lithograph
Dog, from Images by Elisabeth Frink, 1967
By Elisabeth Frink
Located in Kingsclere, GB
Dog, from Images by Elisabeth Frink, 1967
Additional information:
Medium: lithograph
79 x 59 cm
31 1/8 x 23 1/4 in
signed and inscribed 'D' in pencil
Dame Elisabeth Jean Frank was an English sculptor and printmaker.
Born in Thurlow, Suffolk, Frink studied at the Guildford School of Art (1946–1949), under Willi Soukop...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Elisabeth Frink Art
Materials
Lithograph
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Elisabeth Frink art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Elisabeth Frink art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Elisabeth Frink in bronze, metal, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Elisabeth Frink art, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of John Bellany, Hughie Lee-Smith, and Cundo Bermúdez. Elisabeth Frink art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $21,112 and tops out at $42,217, while the average work can sell for $31,665.
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Questions About Elisabeth Frink Art
- 1stDibs ExpertJanuary 19, 2025Elisabeth Frink was famous for being an influential English sculptor and printmaker. Her work captured the complexities of the postwar era in the 20th century. Frink's oeuvre encompassed themes of masculinity, strength and struggle, frequently depicting men, birds, dogs and horses. Her commitment to figurative art inspired the creation of the Frink School of Figurative Sculpture in 1996, a tribute to her artistic vision. On 1stDibs, shop an assortment of Elisabeth Frink art.






