- Artist
- Bernard Meadows 1915–2005
- Medium
- Bronze
- Dimensions
- Object: 170 × 460 × 230 mm, 6 kg
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Presented by the artist 2002
- Reference
- T07909
Summary
Meadows explained that his work was ‘all about the human condition. The crabs, and the birds, and the armed figures, the pointing figures, are all about fear ... perhaps not fear, it’s vulnerability’ (Interview with Tamsyn Woollcombe, Artists’ Lives, November 1992, Tate Gallery Archive, TAV415A). With Fallen bird this fear and vulnerability is communicated through the spiky, elongated forms of the bird which has fallen on to the ground, its legs upright and disjointed. The hollow, open mouth recalls Francis Bacon’s (1909-92) triptych Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, 1944 (Tate N06171)
which was exhibited in 1945 at the Lefevre Gallery in London. The sculpture also recalls Elisabeth Frink’s (1930-93) sculptures of birds. Frink, who was taught by Meadows at the Chelsea School of Art while she was a student there between 1949 and 1953, produced many animal sculptures on the theme of death, including Dead Cat (1954), Dead Rabbit (1954) and Dead Hen (1956).
Further reading:
Herbert Read, ‘New Aspects of British Sculpture’, Exhibition of Works by Sutherland, Wadsworth, Adams, Armitage, Butler, Chadwick, Clarke, Meadows, Moore, Paolozzi, Turnbull, exhibition catalogue, British Council, London 1952
Alan Bowness, Bernard Meadows: Sculpture and Drawings, London 1995, reproduced pl.34, p.55
Heather Birchall
November 2002
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