''Horse and Rider'' (FCR 242) is a 1974 bronze

equestrian sculpture An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...

Elisabeth Frink Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...

. The work was commissioned for a site in

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

; another cast is in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

. It was described by Frink as "an ageless symbol of man and horse". One of Frink's earliest sculptures from 1950 was also titled ''Horse and Rider'', and she returned to this subject over decades. A series of Frink prints from the early 1970s held by the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

depict a horse and rider. Frink lived in southern France in 1967 to 1970, near the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...

. She was inspired to create more works portraying horses; an example of a similar horse sculpture from the early 1970s is at the

Cass Sculpture Foundation The Cass Sculpture Foundation was a charitable commissioning body based in Goodwood, Sussex, England. The Foundation's 26-acre grounds were home to an ever-changing display of 80 monumental sculptures, all of which were available for sale with th ...

. The work was commissioned in 1974 by Trafalgar House for its development at the southern end of Dover Street, London, near the junction with Piccadilly, opposite The Ritz. It was modelled in plaster at Frink's studio in Southwark then cast in bronze in 1975 at Meridian Bronze Foundry in Peckham. It measures high. Frink also cast a small version , in an edition of nine in 1974. The sculpture depicts a man riding on a horse, naked and barefoot, without

tack TACK is a group of archaea acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota, the first groups discovered. They are found in different environments ranging from acidophilic th ...

– no saddle, bridle, or other riding equipment. The man's right hand rests on the horse's stylised mane, with his left hand resting on the horse's left flank. The horse is standing still on four legs, ready to walk, on a rough bronze base. The figures of man and horse are slightly stylised, with lightly defined musculature; the horse has a short mane and tail. Both have their heads turned to their left, as if looking at something. Horse and Rider - geograph

The work was installed in

in 1975, mounted on a granite plinth. It is part of an edition of three; another cast is in

. The example in London became a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in September 2015. In June 2018 the sculpture was moved to the Town Square on Bond Street to mark the new entrance to the Royal Academy of Arts.

References

''Horse and Rider''
Elisabeth Frink Estate
''Horse and Rider'', 1969
CASS Sculpture Foundation
Dame Elisabeth Frink, ''Small Horse and Rider'', 1970
Tate Gallery {{Coord, 51, 30, 34.37, N, 0, 8, 29.25, W, scale:3125_region:GB, display=title 1975 establishments in England 1975 sculptures Bronze sculptures in the City of Westminster Buildings and structures in Mayfair Buildings and structures on Piccadilly Equestrian statues in the United Kingdom Grade II listed statues in the City of Westminster Grade II listed public art Outdoor sculptures in London Sculptures by Elisabeth Frink