Sculptures and drawings by a celebrated Suffolk-born artist have been acquired by a Norwich cultural hub and attraction.
The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, on Norwich’s University of East Anglia (UEA) campus, says 29 pieces by Elisabeth Frink will be joining the collection.
The artist was born in Great Thurlow, and died in 1993 aged 62.
Her late son, Lin Jammet, who died in 2017, said it was his wish that a group of his mother’s works should remain at the centre following her exhibition held in 2018.
The centre is yet to decide how the pieces will go on display.
Sainsbury Centre head of collections and curator of Elizabeth Frink: Humans and Other Animals, Calvin Winner, said: “We are delighted that a significant body of work is held in a public collection in the region of Frink’s birth. The Sainsbury Centre is perhaps best known for its holdings of sculpture from ancient times to the present day. Frink’s work will now be seen alongside some of the greatest sculpture ever made. This is a fitting tribute to one of the most important British sculptors of the 20th century.”
Frink was known for depicting the relationship between humans and animals and this was a theme she returned to throughout her life.
She rose to prominence while still a student at Chelsea College of Art in 1952, when she had her first major gallery exhibition and won a prize in an international competition for the Monument to the Unknown Political Prisoner. She created a series of expressionist bird sculptures and Frink was associated with the Geometry of Fear group of British sculptors.
Frink created an artistic response to the Second World War and to the climate of fear generated by the encroaching Cold War.
In the 1950s, her falling and spinning men, and associated drawings, echoed images of early cosmonauts including Yuri Gagarin, the first human in outer space.
Her large scale bronze creations the Mirage Birds will be on show in the UEA’s sculpture park.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here