Dorset Museum & Art Gallery launches fundraising appeal to restore early sculpture by Dame Elisabeth Frink
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery has launched a fundraising appeal to conserve Horse and Rider (1950), a significant early sculpture by Dame Elisabeth Frink, one of the most influential British sculptors of the 20th century.
Frink’s work is presently featured in the Museum’s exhibition People Watching: Over a Hundred Years of British Portraiture, presented in partnership with The Ingram Collection. The exhibition brings together around 50 works of sculpture, painting, drawing, and photography dating from 1915 to the present day.
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Created when Frink was just 20 years old, Horse and Rider is a powerful early expression of the vision, technical skill, and emotional intensity that would come to define her career. Crafted in plaster, the sculpture captures Frink’s lifelong fascination with the relationship between humans and horses — a recurring theme throughout her work.
Following conservation, Horse and Rider will be displayed alongside other works by Dame Elisabeth Frink currently on view at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, offering visitors a rare opportunity to see this formative sculpture in dialogue with later pieces and to trace the development of her artistic practice.
Over time, Horse and Rider has become increasingly vulnerable to damage and deterioration. To ensure the sculpture can be safely displayed to the public, the Museum is planning essential conservation work, including:
Repairing the rider’s right arm to restore its original form
Consolidating exposed plaster surfaces to prevent further damage
Carefully cleaning the sculpture to reveal the detail and expression of Frink’s original creation
This conservation project will safeguard a key early work by Dame Elisabeth Frink, allowing audiences to gain valuable insight into the beginnings of an artist whose work continues to resonate today.
“We are proud to care for such an important early work,” said Claire Dixon, Director of Dorset Museum & Art Gallery. “With public support, we can preserve Horse and Rider for future generations and display it alongside other works by Frink, deepening understanding of her remarkable artistic journey.”
Every contribution brings the Museum closer to conserving this exceptional sculpture and sharing it with audiences for generations to come.
To support the appeal or learn more, visit dorsetmuseum.org/get-involved/donate/
Image Credit: Horse and Rider by Dame Elizabeth Frink © Elisabeth Frink images courtesy of Bree and Tully Jammet/ Image courtesy of Dorset Museum & Art Gallery.
