Lot 139
Dame Elisabeth Frink (British 1930-1993) for Edinburgh Weavers §
Warriors, 1960
Auction: 23 October 2020 from 10:00 BST
Description
tapestry woven wool
Dimensions
122cm long x 91cm high (48in long x 36in high)
Footnote
Literature:
Lesley Jackson, Alaistair Morton and Edinburgh Weavers, V&A Publishing, 2012, p.223 (illustrated).
At the point of commissioning of Warriors Elizabeth Frink was one of the rising stars of British art, and one of the textiles was exhibited alongside the original watercolour at Modern Art in Textile Design at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester in 1962. The frieze like composition, evokes classical relief sculpture, a subject that was of particular inspiration to Frink and which she returned to on a number of occasions in differing media.
Warriors was one of the most expensive fabrics in the artists’ textile series by Edinburgh Weavers at £6 a yard, this took into account the difficulty of the weave and the choice of expensive woollen yarns. Evidently Frink must have favoured the design, as curtains made from Warrior fabric were in use at her Dorset home until at least 1982.