signed and dated 'Frink/50' (lower right)

Dame Elisabeth Frink 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 human form".

Bound Figure is a rare example of Frink’s earliest work from her time at Chelsea College of Art -- painted when the artist was just 20 years old. It presents an excellent example of the essential themes that recur within her work: the nature and the divine in human form. Lin Jammet, Frink’s son (and until his recent death curator of the Frink Estate) believed this piece to be a depiction of Christ, bound and lacerated. This idea can be clearly seen in the textural handling of the pen and ink, the harsh, scratched lines and exquisite use of light and shadow. Frink went on to use the techniques that she worked on in this painting in her later work. She created many sculptures by layering broken and distressed plaster over wire armature.