This sculpture was fashioned in rope before being cast in bronze. It is an anatomically correct horse fifteen feet high and weighing four tons. At the horse’s tail a length of rope extends to the ground where a life-size sculpture of a man steps upon the rope 'forcing the horse to rear and apparently unravel itself in a bid for freedom'. This scene is said to reflect man's efforts to free himself of slavery. Edward Cronshaw is an English sculptor who works exclusively in natural materials - wood, stone, fruit, bone - before making bronze casts of his creations. Cronshaw was raised near Pendle in a family home of such antiquity that a local hill bears the same name, Cronshaw's Seat. He trained as a joiner and furniture maker before attending St. Martin's School of Art in London. Joining a group of artists at Dean Clough near Hebden Bridge, he was first acclaimed as a sculptor when he won the competition for this sculpture. The commission paid for improvements to his studio enabling casting of such massive works. His largest is perhaps the twenty foot high statue of Giai, for Boot’s headquarters in Nottingham.

Sources:
HalifaxCourier.co.uk
DeanClough.com

Walk 003 | Home