Large Leaping Hare

Artist Barry Flanagan (British, 1941-2009)

Date1982

DimensionsH: 111 in. (281.9 cm); W: 111 in. (281.9 cm); Depth: 44 in. (111.8 cm)

MediumBronze with stainless steel base.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Georgia and David K. Welles

Object number

2003.54

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Sculpture Garden

Label TextWelsh sculptor Barry Flanagan’s hare bounds through the air, forever defying gravity. Sometimes dancing, often running or leaping, the hare is Flanagan’s trademark image. He has said he uses animals instead of human figures because he feels he can show more expression through the ears of a hare than the squint of a human eye. Flanagan considered this hare, frozen in its graceful leap, to be a symbol of freedom. He knew that in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the hare was used to write words like “to exist.” Large Leaping Hare is intended to serve a similarly animated, life-affirming function.Published ReferencesVallongo, Sally, "Opening the Door: A Conversation with Georgia and David Welles," Sculpture, vol. 22, no. 8, Oct. 2003, p.52, repr. (col.) p.50.Exhibition HistoryMusée National D'Art Modern, Paris, Barry Flanagan: Sculptures, 1983, cat. pp. 11, 84, 88, no. 88 (another cast illustrated.)

Pace Gallery, New York, Barry Flanagan, October - November 1983, illus. p. 24 (another cast illustrated.)

Comparative ReferencesSee also Barry Flanagan: Sculpture, British Council, London, 1982, pp. 27-28, 88, 93 ill. cf. Sutton Manor: Permanent Exhibition, XXth Century Sculpture, Sutton Scotney, Hampshire, 1984, pp. 72 - 73 ill.