elisabeth frink: sculpture, drawing, print

Elizabeth Frink’s work has been central to the visual landscape of Belfast for over 60 years, ever since her Flying Figures first went on display in Shaftesbury Square in 1964. We are delighted to have recently given them a new permanent home on the Ulster Museum exterior. 

While Elisabeth's work was familiar to generations of Belfast residents and visitors, many may have not have known Frink’s name, or about her incredible career across sculpture, drawing and print. This exhibition, featuring gifts from the Frink estate to the Ulster Museum collection, is an opportunity to share the breadth of her work.

Frink was born in 1930 and had success at a very young age, selling to the Tate Gallery when she was 21 and still a student. Though primarily a sculptor, she also experimented with drawing and print making.

Nature was at the centre of Frink’s practice. Her depictions of horses (a lifelong passion), male figures and birds were often used to communicate the violent struggles of the world, and anxiety from a World War II childhood. The landscape of Ireland and Celtic mythology became influences after travelling here with her first husband, the French-Irish architect Michel Jammet. This relationship with Ireland lives on in Frink’s multiple public commissions here.

The works in this collection were donated to National Museums NI in 2019 as part of a large gift to multiple institutions following the wishes of Frink’s late son Lin Jammet (1958-2017). Jammet was an artist and printmaker who took over his mother’s Dorset studio following her death. These works are all from his personal collection.

Image Credits: © 2026 The Elisabeth Frink Estate and Archive. All Rights Reserved, DACS