Tragic life reflected in impressive body of work

Gerda Frömel drowned aged 44, but a new exhibition serves as a reminder of why she was one of Ireland’s most lauded sculptors, writes Alan O’Riordan

SHE was one of the most lauded sculptors in Ireland, but Gerda Frömel has largely been forgotten since her untimely death in 1975.

Her short, remarkable life ended when she was just 44. She was drowned on a holiday in Mayo, a fate she shared, tragically, with her two-year-old daughter, who had drowned some years before in an accident at their home in Dublin.