Iconic Belfast artworks removed from city centre ahead of museum move

The works were carefully removed from the wall at Shaftesbury Square on Wednesday.

The ’Airborne Men’ - aluminium sculptures by renowned artist Dame Elisabeth Frink – have been attached to the side of Ulster Bank’s former Shaftesbury Square branch since the 1960s.

The work was commissioned in 1961 on behalf of the bank, as a focal point at the original branch which opened in 1964.

Ulster Bank subsequently sold the building in 2009, with the bank then taking back a lease of the whole building and retaining ownership of the sculptures to help protect and preserve them.

From August 2023, there will be no remaining connection between the bank and the building.

To allow the people of Belfast to still have access to the works however, the bank decided to gift them to the museum.

Terry Robb, head of personal banking at Ulster Bank said: “This is fantastic news that will see the future of these internationally important art works secured and will enable them to continue to be accessible to the people of Belfast and Northern Ireland.

"Ulster Bank recognises their significance in artistic terms and as a landmark, and after careful consideration, we strongly believe that this is the best outcome for the sculpture and the city.”

Anne Stewart, Senior Curator of Art at National Museums NI, said: "We are delighted these magnificent sculptures are coming into the national collection.

“Elisabeth Frink's sculptures are renowned for their powerful and emotive representations of the human form, and they will undoubtedly captivate and inspire our visitors when they eventually go on display at the Ulster Museum.

"We extend our sincere gratitude to Ulster Bank for their invaluable support in making this happen.”

Dame Elisabeth Frink CH, DBE, RA (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was one of the UK’s most important 20th century sculptors and artists. Born in England she was brought up in rural Suffolk.

The work ‘Airborne Men’, also referred to as the ‘Flying Figures’ and ‘Draft and Overdraft’, represents a significant piece from the 1960s. Unusually, rather than creating them in her preferred medium of bronze, these were created in aluminium.

Frink also created Crucifixion for St Bernadette’s church in Belfast in 1964, and examples of her work can be found in public collections around the world.