Several important works such as ceramics of the early Seventies are in private collections and museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Her works spontaneously call to mind the famous sculptures of Auguste Rodin depicting poet Honoré de Balzac in his absurd and inimitable genius, reminding us of Man’s psychological complexity and his peaks and chasms.

Manche Skulptur ist im Zustand des Torso belassen, ja Estella Campavias hat ihnen sogar den Titel des „Torso“ gegeben. Der Torso ist ja nicht etwa eine verstümmelte Figur, wie man in Anlehnung an die Venus von Milo glauben möchte. Ein Torso ist eine bewusst gestaltete Form, bei der die Künstlerin bewusst alles weglässt, was nicht unbedingt notwendig ist. Ein Torso bedeutet somit die Konzentration auf das Wesentliche. Wie sagte doch Max Liebermann: „Kunst heisst Weglassen“.

Ses statues n'auront ni bras, ni jambes, ni pieds, ni traits au visage. - Elles auront un cou important, un dos, une structure. Rien qui individualise, (et en distinguant, isole). Le visage, la face des ses statues est simple comme un disque partfois, ou lisse comme un galet érodé par la mer. (Geneviève Couteau)

Estella Campavias (1918-1990) is one of the most exciting sculptors of our time. Of Scottish and Spanish extraction, she travelled and lived in many countries finally settling in England. Several of her works are in private collections and museums including the V&A Museum in London. She exhibited widely during her life, though some work on display at Glyndebourne has not been exhibited before. Campavias first achieved fame as a ceramicist before discovering sculpture in the early 1970s. She plunges us into her world of form and figure, continuously presenting new interpretations. Her moving figures touch us deeply. The sensuous, flowing lines of her figures tantalisingly hover between abstract and figurative. These uncluttered works call to mind the sculptures of Auguste Rodin, reminding us of man’s psychological complexity and volatility. It is time to rediscover this important sculptor.