| Description |
Summary:
Daughter of an ordinary Army family, Dame Elisabeth Frink grew up to be an original, passionate and exceptionally talented sculptor, one of the few 20th-century artists to achieve critical acclaim while remaining popular with the general public. From ordinary beginnings, Frink went on to take her place at the centre of Bohemian Chelsea; she married three times, had many lovers, and became friends with many of the late 20th century's most colourful figures from the art and literary worlds. A complex, contradictory figure of great inner strength and integrity, Frink embodied a peculiarly eccentric mixture of flamboyance and conventionality. Gardiner's biography focuses on the places (Suffolk, London, France and Dorset) and people (lovers, husbands, friends) that shaped her life and on the themes (men, horses, birds) and beliefs which shaped her work readily enmeshing the two.
Review:
'This book catches the boldness, bravery and generosity with which Frink lived. A driven artist, her life makes fascinating reading' Sunday Times 'The sculptor Elisabeth Frink... is a gift for a biographer. Stephen Gardiner has brought her vividly to life on the page' Country LIfe 'A compelling portrait of a fiery young artist' TLS
Praise for Gardiner's Epstein: Artist Against the Establishment: 'A rich and monumental history, compressing into the life of this extraordinary, immensely energetic man a vivid slice of some of this century's most important social and artistic history' Mark Archer, Financial Times 'A magnificent biography ... A profound and loving portrayal' Iris Murdoch
Biography:
Stephen Gardiner is an architect and writer for the Observer, London Magazine and the Spectator among others. He is the author of Epstein (Flamingo, 1993) and Le Corbusier (Fontana Modern Masters, 1974), as well as two novels. |