Barry Flanagan was an influential and well loved Welsh-Irish artist, best known for his dynamic bronze sculptures of dancing and leaping hares. Flanagan was born in Prestatyn, Wales. The artist trained at St Martin's School of Art, graduating in 1966, and went on to become one of Britain's pre-eminent sculptors. Flanagan's work was perceived as radical and independent. The artist revolutionised sculptural material when in 1965, whilst still a student, he exhibited the soft sculpture 'aaing j gni aa' 1965, later bought by the Tate Gallery in 1969. This artwork changed ideas about the language of sculpture forever. Flanagan's career spanned Arte Povera, Process Art, conceptual installation and traditional bronze casting. This earned Flanagan international acclaim including representing Britain at the 1982 Venice Biennale. The sculptor was elected a Royal Academician in 1991 and appointed an OBE. There have been major retrospectives held at the Tate and Irish Museum of Modern Art.