Today marks the birthday of Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975), one of the most important British sculptors of the 20th century and a key figure in modernism. She is best known for her abstract sculptures with organic forms, often made in stone, wood, and bronze, in which space, form, and void play a central role.
The portrait above and the birthday calendar featuring 366 legendary people were created by me.
Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield, England. She later studied at the Leeds School of Art, where she became friends with the sculptor Henry Moore, with whom she is often compared. She then continued her studies at the Royal College of Art in London.
Hepworth was married twice. Her first marriage was to the sculptor John Skeaping. In 1938 she married the abstract artist Ben Nicholson. Together they had triplets, an experience that had a profound influence on her life and work.
Her work and artistic development
In her early career, Hepworth created figurative sculptures, often depicting people and animals. She soon became influenced by European modernists such as Brancusi, Picasso, and Arp. From the 1930s onward, her work became increasingly abstract. She was one of the first sculptors to create works with holes and open spaces (“pierced forms”), in which emptiness became just as important as mass. Her forms are often organic, inspired by the human body, landscapes, and nature. She frequently worked using the technique of direct carving, carving directly into stone or wood without first making a plaster model.
Although her work is abstract, Hepworth often referred to human experience and emotion. She was one of the first female sculptors to gain international recognition in a male-dominated art world.
Barbara Hepworth received several honors, including a Damehood (DBE) in 1965. She died in 1975 at the age of 72 in a fire at her studio in St Ives, Cornwall. Her former home and studio in St Ives is now the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Hepworth remains one of the most influential sculptors of modern art.
Barbara Hepworth’s work can be found worldwide in many museums, galleries, and public collections—both in permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. Below is an overview of key locations where her work can be seen:
United Kingdom
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Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden (St Ives, Cornwall)
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Tate museums (London, Liverpool, Tate St Ives, among others)
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Aberdeen Art Gallery
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The Hepworth Wakefield
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Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The Netherlands
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Kröller-Müller Museum (Otterlo)
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Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) – temporary exhibitions
United States
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Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.)
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J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles)
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San Diego Museum of Art
Germany
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Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum (Duisburg)
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Niedersächsische Landesgalerie (Hannover)
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Museum Würth (Künzelsau)
Denmark
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Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
France
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Fondation Maeght (Saint-Paul-de-Vence)
Greece
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Museum of Contemporary Art, Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation
It is always advisable to check in advance what is currently on display, as museums often rotate works or lend them to temporary exhibitions. Outdoor displays and sculpture gardens are also excellent places to experience Hepworth’s work in relation to landscape and space—an aspect that was essential to her artistic vision.
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