Sophie Ryder (b.1963)
"Curled Up" (2006)
Signed and numbered 4/100, miniature bronze, 5.5cm high

Born in 1963 in London, Sophie Ryder studied Combined Arts at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1981-84. She was encouraged by the director Sir Hugh Casson to develop her sculpture work, alongside her diploma in painting.

Inspired by Picasso, Goya and Henry Moore, she has developed her famous Lady Hare as a counterpart to Picasso’s minotaur. As seen in lots 150 - 151 she often depicts the Lady Hare in vulnerable, protective positions curled up or rising.

She conceived this concept in the early 1990s, which corresponded with her exploration of hybrid human-animal forms. Since then she has depicted the form of the Lady hare through a variety of mediums.

These charming sculptures are miniature representatives of her larger work which has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including locally at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.