λ Dame Elisabeth Frink (British 1930-1993)Small Male FigureBronzeSigned (on the base)29.5 x 29.5cm (11½ x 11½ in.)Conceived in 1986 and cast by Ken Cook in an edition of 15, the work was amission from the artist by the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society. As one of the early casts, the present work is unnumbered as the edition was originally intended to be unlimited but was subsequently limited to 15 with later casts numbered.Provenance:Dr. Allan St John Dixon MD FRCP OBE (1922-2014) (a gift from The National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society)Thence by descent to the present ownerLiterature:Edward Lucie-Smith, Elisabeth Frink: Sculpture Since 1984 and Drawings, London, 1994, p. 185, no. SC22, illustration of another castAnnette Ratuszniak (ed.), Elisabeth Frink: Catalogue Raisonné of Sculpture 1947-93, Farnham, 2013, p. 173, no. FCR353aThe National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS) is a UK charity that provides support and advice to sufferers of this chronic condition in which the spine and other areas of the body be inflamed. It was a cause close to Frink's heart as her son had been diagnosed with the condition. In 1986, she was approached to create a work to be presented as an award to medical personnel who have contributed outstanding research into the disease. Fifteen casts were made and cast by Ken Cook at his foundry.Dr. Allan St. John Dixon was a founding member of The National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society, Dixon was the first Chairman, serving from 1976 until his retirement from the Health Service in 1986.