Dame Elisabeth Frink, R.A. (1930-1993)

Discussing Frink's sculptural preoccupation with the male nude throughout her career, Edward Lucie-Smith comments: 'For Frink, the male nude was essentially a male animal, with all the potential for violence which this implies. Though her sculptures are not without strong elements of transcendental feeling, on the whole, she did not use male nudes as a means of expressing spirituality. They are, instead, a way of celebrating the physical universe. Their ambiguity (and many are ambiguous in mood) springs from Frink's recognition that bodily strength is a source of fear as well as of pleasure to its possessors - pleasure because of unity with nature and natural things; fear that this strength may be overcome by some yet stronger force. What is significant about the running figures is that the spectator does not know whether they are running for sheer delight, rejoicing in the expenditure of physical energy; or whether they are in flight, trying to escape from some danger. Their impassive faces give nothing away, however strenuous the effort they are making' (op. cit., p. 12).