Permanent Collection - Walking Madonna, 1981 by Elisabeth Frink. Cast Bronze, life size, acquired by the cathedral in 1981 on 6 cement slabs.

Re-presenting Elisabeth Frink’s Walking Madonna 

In 2016 I was asked to rethink the presentation of the iconic Walking  Madonna sculpture, gifted by Frink to Salisbury Cathedral in 1981. The sculpture is sited on the north-east walk lawn, striding purposefully towards the city of Salisbury.

The sculpture had been positioned on 6 concrete slabs that were in disrepair, with the surrounding grass verge worn away by the thousands of visitors that engage with her every year.  

The arts advisory committee commissioned the stone-masons yard at the cathedral to create a circular stone plinth to which the sculpture would be bolted. With the sculpture in temporary storage I selected with guidance from the Clerk of works, Forest of Dean ‘mixed colour’ sandstone for a new base.  The circle is 1.6 meters in diameter, made up of 6 sections. We added subtle uplighters which were fixed into the stone, so the figure is now illuminated at night. 

The bronze Walking Madonna sculpture was carefully removed from its original base using appropriate lifting equipment and transported to works Dept inside workshops for temporary storage, while the new base was fabricated.

Robert Titley, Canon Treasurer and Chair of Salisbury Cathedral Arts Advisory Committee wrote:

“The partnership with Osborne Samuel Gallery has been a fruitful one for Salisbury Cathedral over the years, allowing us to show remarkable sculpture. Walking Woman is a sculpture of great power. Like Frink’s Madonna, this is not a passive sculpture. As she moves purposefully towards the Cathedral, her cloak flying out behind her, she draws us in as we ourselves approach the Cathedral and invites us to walk with a purpose too.”

Lynn Chadwick
(1914- 2003) 
Cloaked Figure IX and Walking Woman (Courtesy of Osborne Samuel Gallery)

On the 11 August 2014 to mark the centenary of Lynn Chadwick’s birth Cloaked Figure IX was installed on the north-west lawn at Salisbury Cathedral on a long term loan by Osborne Samuel Gallery.  This over life size bronze figure was welcomed as a new member of Salisbury Cathedral's pioneering rolling arts programme, the distinctive sculpture was used as a focus for community engagement. It formed part of the Magna Carta celebrations in 2015 and appeared in the NY Times. 

I wrote at the time, “Cloaked Figure IX  1978, regarded by the artist as a seminal work, has enormous presence. She evokes images of cardinals and other ecclesiastic figures as she makes her way majestically toward the West Doors of the Cathedral. It is an implied movement, her enveloping, protective cloak swept behind with her pyramidal head held high, surveying her new surroundings.” 

The monumental Walking Woman 1984 loan was also arranged by Osborne Samuel Gallery. The figure was installed on September 5th  2016, positioned on the same site as  Cloaked Figure 1978, which is now permanently sited at the entrance to the Montreal Fine Arts Museum.