(Continued)
She was never interested in delicate things, feeling women were too soft, didn't fit into her pattern. She was always obsessed with shapes ­ 'It's . . . the shape of an animal that interests me and the way it moves . . . I want to catch a moment of something before it goes', and she liked the 'subtle combination of sensuality and strength with vulnerability' of the male. Edwin Mullins has said, in the introduction to his book, The Art of Elisabeth Frink (1972): 'The main artery of Elisabeth Frink's work is the theme of the dominant male. The male is not always a man. He is frequently a beast, or a bird, or something between the two . . . He is aggressive, mindless, physical and predatory.' He goes on to assert that her work is a female view of maleness. But Frink herself believed that in art there were no sexes: 'There's no such word as sculptress. If you're a woman, you must be prepared to do everything.'

Dame Elisabeth Frink in her studio
(by permission of the Executors of the Elisabeth Frink Estate; photo Peter Kinnear)