Barbara Hepworth

Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. and won a scholarship to study at the Leeds School of Art from 1920. It was there that she met her fellow Yorkshireman, Henry Moore. Hepworth successfully won a county scholarship to attend the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London and studied there from 1921 until she was awarded the diploma of the Royal College of Art in 1924. Following her studies at the RCA, Hepworth travelled to Florence, Italy, in 1924 on a West Riding Travel Scholarship. Hepworth filed for divorce from Skeaping that year; they were divorced in March 1933. They would lead in the path to modernism in sculpture. In 1933, Hepworth travelled with Nicholson to France, where they visited the studios of Jean Arp, Pablo Picasso, and Constantin Brâncuși. She lived in Trewyn Studios in St Ives from 1949 until her death in 1975. Trewyn Studios had once been an outbuilding of Trewyn House, later purchased by her pupil and assistant John Milne in 1956. At Capener's invitation, she was invited to view surgical procedures and, between 1947 and 1949, she produced nearly 80 drawings of operating rooms in chalk, ink, and pencil. Hepworth was fascinated by the similarities between surgeons and artists, stating: "There is, it seems to me, a close affinity between the work and approach of both physicians and surgeons, and painters and sculptors."

During this period, Hepworth and Nicholson divorced (1951). Her eldest son Paul was killed on 13 February 1953 in a plane crash while serving with the Royal Air Force in Thailand.

Hepworth's difficulties in establishing a stable gallery relationship in the United States have been attributed to many factors, including the artist's own diffidence regarding personal promotion of her work. When Martha Jackson failed to arrange the solo American exhibition of sculptures and drawings that Hepworth demanded, Hepworth moved, in 1957, to Galerie Chalette, run by Arthur and Madeleine Lejwa, known for their close relationship with Jean Arp, and dedication to close relationships with their artists.

The Lejwas came through with the solo exhibition Hepworth craved. but made minimal contact with the press and left as soon as possible. "Have seen all the press", she wrote, "pulled faces at the camera and generally done my best!"

Late career Hepworth greatly increased her studio space in 1960 when she purchased the Palais de Danse, a former cinema and dance hall, that was situated across the street from Trewyn. She used this new space to work on large-scale commissions. The artist also produced a set of lithographs entitled "Opposing Forms" (1970) with Marlborough Fine Art in London.

Famous sculptures

In 1951 Hepworth was commissioned by the Arts Council to create a piece for the Festival of Britain. One of her most prestigious works is Single Form, The same year, she was inducted into Gorsedh Kernow with the bardic name (meaning "Sculptor") – this was described as an "extraordinary honour" given that she was not a Cornish native.

In January 2015 Tate Britain staged a major retrospective with over 70 of Hepworth's works. The first large London show since 1968, it included her well-known major abstract carvings and bronzes, as well as previously unseen photographs and a 1930s self-photogram.

On 25 August 2020, Google honoured Hepworth with a Google Doodle. A Historic England blue plaque was unveiled in honour of Hepworth and first husband John Skeaping at 24 St Ann's Terrace, St John's Wood, London on 30 October 2020. The couple lived there in 1927.

Hepworth's work was included in the 2021 exhibition Women in Abstraction at the Centre Pompidou.

The first major survey of Hepworth's work, Barbara Hepworth: In Equilibrium, was held at Heide Museum of Modern Art in Melbourne from 5 November 2022 to 13 March 2023. Her work had a wide influence on Australian sculpture.

Hepworth's name is one of those featured on the sculpture Ribbons, unveiled in 2024.

Between 12 June and 6 September 2026, the Courtauld Gallery exhibited Hepworth in Colour, an exhibition focused on "the artist’s lifelong fascination with colour, which she used in highly original and unexpected ways." In conjunction with the exhibition, the gallery also exhibited Hepworth and Nicholson: The Hampstead Studio Photographs, displaying Paul Laib's 1933 photographs of their London studio (6 June to 4 October 2026).

Gallery

List of selected works Year(s) Title Material