Tribute I

Details

Dame Elisabeth Frink, R.A. (1930-1993)
Tribute I
signed and numbered 'Frink 1/6' (on the back of the shoulder)
bronze with a light brown patina
26 in. (66 cm.) high
Conceived in 1975.

Provenance

Purchased by the present owner at the 1976 exhibition.

Literature

Exhibition catalogue, Elisabeth Frink Recent Sculpture, London, Waddington and Tooth Galleries, 1976, no page numbers, illustrated within and on the front cover.
B. Robertson, Elisabeth Frink Sculpture Catalogue Raisonné, Salisbury, 1984, p. 185, no. 219, another cast illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, Elisabeth Frink Sculpture and Drawings 1950-1990, Washington D.C., National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1990, pp. 9, 59, 65, illustrated.

Exhibited

London, Waddington and Tooth Galleries, Elisabeth Frink Recent Sculpture, November - December 1976, not numbered.
Washington D.C., National Museum of Women in the Arts, Elisabeth Frink Sculpture and Drawings 1950-1990, 1990, not numbered.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Sale room notice

Please note that the correct image for this lot is illustrated in the catalogue alongside lot 158.

Lot Essay

Perhaps of all her series, the Trubute Heads, conceived in 1975 are most characteristic of Frink's work. The human form, almost always male, was a permanent preoccupation for her, and throughout her career heads were an important theme.

Frinks early heads are those of thugs, warriors and soldiers. Anonymous and ageless they embody masculinity, with thick necks, scarred faces and immutable expressions.

Produced twenty years after her first heads, the Tribute series portrays a different feeling, something more heroic and restrained. Rather than a latent aggression, they convey restraint and poignancy.
This change in expression reflects Frink's own concerns at this time, these heads are intended as a tribute to victims everywhere, men who have been persecuted and left with nothing but their courage and hope. With eyes closed and lips sealed the faces are determined but calm, they have endured much but are forever resilient and unbowed.

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