Dame Elisabeth Frink DBE

Dame Elisabeth Frink RA DBE (1930–1993)

Dame Elisabeth Frink was one of the most important British artists of the post-war period, celebrated for her powerful sculptures, drawings and prints exploring the human figure and the animal world.

Born in Suffolk in 1930, Frink studied at Guildford School of Art and Chelsea School of Art in London. She emerged as a significant figure in British sculpture while still in her twenties, developing a distinctive visual language characterised by expressive form, strong silhouettes and richly worked surfaces.

Animals occupied an important place throughout Frink's career, particularly horses and birds. Her representations of the horse convey both physical strength and vulnerability, reflecting her broader interest in movement, freedom and the relationship between humans and the natural world.

Barry Cronan Fine Art commissioned two tapestries based on Frink's work. Reclining Horse, commissioned in 1975, was produced as a hand-knotted tapestry in India in a limited edition of 25 plus artist's proofs. On the Road to Chartres, commissioned in 1983, was also hand-knotted in India and produced in a limited edition of 30 plus artist's proofs.

The tapestry medium gives Frink's distinctive imagery a different physical presence. The texture and depth of the hand-knotted surface complement the strength of her forms, translating qualities associated with her sculpture and works on paper into textile while retaining the immediacy and character of her original vision.

Frink was elected a Royal Academician in 1979 and appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1982. Her work is represented in major public and private collections internationally, and she remains one of the most distinctive and important figures in twentieth-century British art.