Beschreibung:

λ DAME ELISABETH FRINK (BRITISH 1930-1993) STUDY FOR ALCOCK AND BROWN MEMORIAL (HORIZONTAL BIRDMAN) [FCR114] Bronze Signed and numbered 4/9 (on the underside of right leg) 36 x 40cm (14 x 15½ in.) Conceived circa 1962. Provenance: Beaux Arts, London/Bath Jean Marsden, Private Collection (acquired from the above in May 2005) Sold by the executors of the estate of Jean Marsden Literature: Annette Ratuszniak (ed.), Elisabeth Frink, Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture 1947-93, Farnham, 2013, p.86, no. FCR114, illustration of another cast The present work is a maquette for Frink's 1962 commission for Manchester Airport. The full scale bronze is dedicated to aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown who made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. Similar to the tall 'Birdman' sculpture of 1960, the work also forms part of a series of bronzes inspired by photographs of French adventurer Leo Valentin. Valentin attempted to achieve flight by strapping bird-like wings to his arms but ultimately fell to a dramatic death at an airshow in Liverpool in 1956 in front of 100,000 people. News of the accident, along with photographs, was widely published in the press. The images resonated with Frink whose experience during the war meant that she already had a preoccupation with flight along with a fear of heights. The sculptures she produced as a result depict figures falling sometimes at the point of impact with the ground. Others, like the present work, depict the incongruous marriage of man and bird, the unlikely form struggling to attain flight, hindered by its short wings with legs flailing behind, and yet rising in spite of itself. Condition Report: Dust and surface dirt commensurate with age. Some light scratches to the base. Supporting pole is a little loose and may need stabilising. Otherwise in good original condition. Condition Report Disclaimer