Barbara Hepworth: 8 works

'The theme of mother and child was a consistent theme for Hepworth.'

'With such works as Three Forms she reduced her sculpture to the most simple shapes and eradicated almost all colour.'

'Barbara Hepworth carved "Pierced Hemisphere" from white marble into a form that similarly takes the form of a half sphere rolled slightly backwards so that its flat face is presented at an angle. Hepworth used the oval, sphere and hemisphere and the pierced form frequently in her works until her death in 1975.'

'Barbara Hepworth came to know the surgeon Norman Capener after one of her children had an operation on her thigh in 1943. At his invitation she witnessed a number of operations in Exeter and London, making sketches which she later used as the basis for oil and pencil drawings.'

'In this work Hepworth sought to communicate the way in which the highly trained, cooperative activity of the medical staff engaged in their task resulted in their unconsciously harmonious grouping, or physical disposition in space. Her technique was to prepare the cardboard surface with thin layers of oil paint in muted monochromatic colours.'

'Describing her Greek visit Hepworth said, 'I remember standing on Patmos and thinking - with that incredible stretch of sea and islands before me - how intensely a figure rising in the distance expressed that perfect elevation of the human spirit which in a way is conveyed by a powerful sculptured form...' (Hodin: 'Barbara Hepworth', 1961, p.10) The Madonna is one of the most striking works remaining on the mainly deserted island of Torcello, and it is highly likely that resonances of her silhouette have merged, either consciously or not, with Hepworth's ongoing fascination with the natural forms drawn from the Cornish coastline.'

'Prototype for Winged Figure forms part of the generous Gift from Hepworth's family consisting of 44 surviving models for finished works in plaster, aluminum and wood.'

'Barbara Hepworth moved to Cornwall with her husband, the painter Ben Nicholson, and their triplets at the outbreak of war in 1939. The landscape she saw around her in West Penwith provided her with a lifelong inspiration for her sculpture.'