Wild Boar

Frink had moved to the South of France with her second husband, Ted Poole, in 1967, where she lived until the mid 1970s. In the forests and countryside around her, she saw wild boar foraging in family groups. She later explained to Edward Lucie-Smith, `One of the reasons I started sculpting boars was that when I lived in France, in the Cevennes, we were surrounded by woods and we could actually see wild boars, especially at night. On moonlit nights they'd be making their passages down to the Camargue. They're very fascinating, shy creatures. I was attracted more by their emblematic than by their sculptural qualities. Much of my work is based on that - the combination of something past, the Celtic element, something now, and something which might possibly be in the future' (E. Lucie-Smith and E. Frink, Frink a Portrait, London, 1994, p. 123).

The aggressive nature of the lone male boar gives these sculptures a frisson and a strong feeling of vigour, as often the animal is depicted as if encountered suddenly by the viewer. The textured surface of the sculpture, where the artist has built up layers of plaster over a wire armature before casting, giving a rendition of the boar's rough coat. The raised foreleg in the present work indicates a sense of movement and tension, as if this particular beast, with its tusks clearly visible, is preparing to attack an unwanted rival.

Wild boars appear regularly in the artist's work, over several decades and on differing scales. They make up an important part of the artist's body of public work in commissions from Harlow New Town, and the Zoological Society of London.