Tribute III

Details

Dame Elisabeth Frink, R.A. (1930-1993)
Tribute III
signed and numbered 'Frink 4/6' (on the reverse)
bronze with a light brown/gold patina
28 in. (71 cm.) high
Conceived in 1975.

Provenance

with Terry Dintenfass Gallery, New York, where purchased by the present owner's father, February 1979, and by descent.

Literature

M. Vaizey, The Sunday Times, 19 December 1976, another cast.
J. Spurling, 'On The Move', New Statesman, 10 December 1976, pp. 848-850, another cast.
A. Hills, Arts Review, 10 December 1976, p. 698, another cast.
T. Mullaly, 'Bronze Heads Dominate Frink Show', The Daily Telegraph, 8 December 1976, p. 13, another cast.
R. Berthoud, 'Elisabeth Frink: A Comment on the Future', The Times, 3 December 1976, another cast.
Exhibition catalogue, A Silver Jubilee Exhibition of Contemporary British Sculpture 1977, London, Battersea Park, 1977, n.p., no. 18, another cast illustrated.
B. Connell, 'Capturing the Human Spirit in Big, Bronze Men', The Times, 5 September 1977, p. 5, another cast.
H. Kramer, 'Art: A Sculptor in Grand Tradition', The New York Times, 2 February 1979, p. 21, another cast.
'Elisabeth Frink', Art International, Vol. 23/2, May 1979, another cast.
C. Nicholas-White, 'Three Sculptors: Judd, Vollmer & Frink', Art World, February - March 1979, another cast.
A. Freedman, 'Horses, Men and Sculpture in the Grand Tradition', Globe and Mail, Toronto, 8 September 1979, p. 35, another cast.
I. McManus, 'Elisabeth Frink: An Open Air Retrospective', Arts Review, 2 September 1983, pp. 10-11, another cast.
Exhibition catalogue, Elisabeth Frink: Open Air Retrospective, Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 1983, n.p., exhibition not numbered, another cast illustrated.
B. Robertson, Elisabeth Frink Sculpture: Catalogue Raisonné, Salisbury, 1984, pp. 108, 185, no. 221, another cast illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture and Drawings, 1952-1984, London, Royal Academy of Arts, 1985, pp. 16-17, 52, no. 69, another cast illustrated.
Exhibition catalogue, Elisabeth Frink, Bath, Beaux Arts, 1986, n.p., exhibition not numbered, 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, exhibition not numbered, another cast illustrated.
E. Lucie-Smith, Frink: A Portrait, London, 1994, p. 46, another cast illustrated.
E. Lucie-Smith, Elisabeth Frink, Sculpture since 1984 & Drawings, London, 1994, p. 135, another cast.
Exhibition catalogue, Elisabeth Frink: A Certain Unexpectedness - sculptures, graphic works, textiles, Salisbury, Library and Galleries, and Cathedral and Close, 1997, p. 70, no. 45, another cast.
S. Gardiner, Frink: The Official Biography of Elisabeth Frink, London, 1998, pp. 187, 205, 207, 212, 216, 223, 251, 254, another cast.
A. Ratuszniak (ed.), Elisabeth Frink, Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture 1947-93, London, 2013, p. 130, no. FCR 249, another cast illustrated.

Exhibited

London, Waddington and Tooth Galleries, Elisabeth Frink: Recent Sculpture, November - December 1976, exhibition not numbered, another cast exhibited.
London, Battersea Park, A Silver Jubilee Exhibition of Contemporary British Sculpture 1977, June - September 1977, no. 18, another cast exhibited.
New York, Terry Dintenfass Gallery, Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture, Watercolours, Prints, 1979, catalogue not traced.
Toronto, Waddington and Shiell Galleries, Elisabeth Frink, 1979, catalogue not traced, another cast exhibited.
Winchester, Great Courtyard, Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture in Winchester, 1981, exhibition not numbered, another cast exhibited.
Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Elisabeth Frink: Open Air Retrospective, July - November 1983, exhibition not numbered, another cast exhibited.
King's Lynn, St Margaret's Church, Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture, 1984, catalogue not traced, another cast exhibited.
London, Royal Academy of Arts, Elisabeth Frink, Sculpture and Drawings 1952-1984, February - March 1985, no. 69, another cast exhibited.
Bath, Beaux Arts, Elisabeth Frink, May - June 1986, exhibition not numbered, another cast exhibited.
Washington, The National Museum for Women in the Arts, Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture and Drawings, 1950-1990, 1990, exhibition not numbered, another cast exhibited.
London, Royal Academy, 1993, no. 641, another cast exhibited.
Salisbury, Library and Galleries, and Cathedral and Close, Elisabeth Frink: A Certain Unexpectedness - sculptures, graphic works, textiles, May - June 1997, no. 45, another cast exhibited.

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Lot Essay

Conceived in 1975, Dame Elisabeth Frink’s series of Tribute Heads explore themes of suffering and endurance, inspired by the work of Amnesty International and the stoic resolve of the nameless figures around the world who have been persecuted as a result of their beliefs. The artist began this series shortly after her return to London following a number of years living in France, continuing her explorations into the same forms and subjects that had underpinned her Goggle Heads and Soldiers’ Heads sculptures. For Frink, the head was a conduit through which she could channel an array of emotions, one which allowed her to delve into the internal psychological landscape of her figures. As she explained: ‘Heads have always been very important to me as vehicles for sculpture. A head is infinitely variable. It’s complicated, and it’s extremely emotional. Everyone’s emotions are in their face. It’s not surprising that there are sculptures of massive heads going way back, or that lots of other artists besides myself have found the subject fascinating’ (Frink, quoted in E. Lucie-Smith, Frink: A Portrait, London, 1994, p. 125). Through subtle alterations from figure to figure in this series, Frink captures an insightful glimpse into the full emotional impact these experiences have on the individuals involved.

Works such as Tribute III were seen as the personification of stoic determination, conveying not only the suffering endured by these men and women, but also their resilience in the face of persecution. Paring the features back to the minimal suggestion of its essential forms, the artist focuses our attention on the figure’s highly nuanced expression, eloquently conveying a careful balance of tension and serenity in their face. In this way, the figure at the heart of the present work retains a poise and dignity, as they defiantly face their torment. Frink, reflecting on this aspect of the Tribute heads, explained: ‘they are the victims, except that they are not crumpled in any sense…they’re not damaged. They’ve remained whole. No, I think they’re survivors really. I look at them as survivors who have gone through to the other side’ (Frink, National Life Stories: Artists’ Lives interview with Sarah Kent, https://sounds.bl.uk/related-content/TRANSCRIPTS/021T-C0466X0012XX-ZZZZA0.pdf, [accessed 22/09/2016]). In this way, Tribute III can be seen as not only a testament to those who are living in dangerously repressive situations, but as a hopeful statement about the inherently human capacity for endurance, and the strength of belief and faith, when one’s freedom is challenged.

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