Dame Elisabeth Frink, R.A.

Private Collection, Monaco
Their sale, Bonhams London, 2nd July 2008, lot 45
Sale, Christie's London, 13th December 2012, lot 205, where acquired by the present owner

Edward Lucie-Smith, Elisabeth Frink; Sculptures Since 1984 and Drawings, Art Books International, London, 1994, cat. no.40, illustrated p.37 (another cast);
Annette Ratuszniak, Elisabeth Frink; Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture 1947 - 93, Lund Humphries, London, 2013, cat. no.FCR366, illustrated p.178 (another cast).

Structurally sound, there are one or two tiny casting imperfections visible upon very close inspection, including around the animal's head, with some very light traces of surface dirt and dust to the crevices. There are felt pads to the underside of each hoof. This excepting the work appears in excellent overall condition. Please contact the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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"...Her most exciting commission for a very long time: the water buffaloes. This gigantic job - the female to be lying down, the male standing - had become the passion of her life, as all-absorbing as a love affair" (Stephen Gardiner, Frink, The Official Biography of Elisabeth Frink, HarperCollins, London, 1998, p.258).

When conceiving a new piece, it is the norm for a sculptor to produce numerous preliminary sketches, to work up ideas on paper prior to realising the work in its final three dimensional form. Frink favoured a different approach. She sought to capture the spirit of her subject and the immediacy of a first impression through rapidly executed maquettes; she effectively sketched in solid forms.

It was through this method that Frink first engaged with her 1986 commission to make two monumental sculptures of Water buffalo. Destined to stand in the Exchange Square Plaza, outside Sir Norman Foster’s Hong Kong and Shanghai bank, it is understood that Frink and these animals in particular where chosen in an effort to humanize the setting. Frink for her renowned skill in rendering animals and aptly contrasting, figurative style and the water buffalo for its reference throughout Chinese Art History. It is likely that the source of inspiration for the standing male was a ritual bronze vessel made during the Chou Dynasty (1249-1122 BC).

The finished works pay testament to Frink’s consummate ability to capture the spirit of a creature. The faltering strength of an animal, a dominant physical presence made vulnerable and alive through Frink’s hands.

The sculpture presented here represents a fascinating insight into Frink’s process. Clean and direct it has a different spirit to the finished, full sized work. Frink’s handling of the material, simple and irreverent, is a thrill to encounter both through sight and touch. With enthuses placed on the solidity of the bone structure, the male stands steadfast upon his thick legs, embodying the modest grandeur which so perfectly contrasted the aggression and speed of our modern age.