Barbara Hepworth
English modernist sculptor and leading figure of the St Ives artists' colony
Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975) was an English sculptor whose work is a key example of Modernism, especially modern sculpture. During the Second World War, she became a leading figure in the St Ives artists' colony, alongside Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo.
Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Hepworth studied at Leeds School of Art and the Royal College of Art in the 1920s. She married sculptor John Skeaping in 1925, but in 1931 fell in love with painter Ben Nicholson. After divorcing Skeaping in 1933, she became part of a Hampstead-based circle of modern artists and helped found the art movement Unit One.
At the start of the Second World War, Hepworth and Nicholson moved to St Ives, Cornwall, where she lived for the rest of her life. Though best known as a sculptor, she also made drawings—including a series of operating-room sketches after her daughter was hospitalised in 1944—and lithographs. She died in a fire at her studio in 1975.
Hepworth was the eldest child of Gertrude and Herbert Hepworth, a civil engineer who became county surveyor in 1921. At Wakefield Girls' High School she won music prizes and, at age 12, a scholarship to Leeds School of Art, where she met fellow Yorkshireman Henry Moore. They formed a lasting professional friendship and rivalry. Despite the male-dominated field, she won a county scholarship to the Royal College of Art, studying from 1921 to 1924.
After the RCA, she travelled to Florence in 1924 on a West Riding Travel Scholarship. Runner-up for the Prix-de-Rome, she married the winner, John Skeaping, in Florence in 1925. In Italy, she learned marble carving from sculptor Giovanni Ardini. Returning to London in 1926, she and Skeaping exhibited from their flat. Their son Paul was born in 1929. In 1931, she met Ben Nicholson; both were still married. She filed for divorce that year, finalised in March 1933.
Her early work was deeply interested in abstraction and continental art movements. In 1931, she became the first to sculpt pierced figures, a feature later seen in Henry Moore’s work, and a step toward modernist sculpture. In 1933, she travelled with Nicholson to France, visiting studios of Jean Arp, Pablo Picasso, and Constantin Brâncuși. She later joined the Paris-based Abstraction-Création group. That same year, she co-founded Unit One with Nicholson, Paul Nash, critic Herbert Read, and architect Wells Coates, aiming to unite Surrealism and abstraction in British art. She also helped introduce continental artists to British audiences. In 1937, she designed the layout for *Circle: An International Survey of Constructivist Art*, edited by Nicholson, Naum Gabo, and Leslie Martin.
Hepworth gave birth to triplets—Rachel, Sarah, and Simon—in 1934. She managed to care for them while continuing her art, arguing that domestic life nourished her work as long as she did some each day. She married Nicholson in November 1938. Rachel and Simon later became artists.
At the outbreak of war in 1939, Hepworth, Nicholson, and their children moved to Cornwall. She lived at Trewyn Studios in St Ives from 1949 until her death. The studio had been an outbuilding of Trewyn House, later bought by her pupil John Milne in 1956. She described finding it as “magic.” In February 1949, she and Nicholson co-founded the Penwith Society of Arts, with 19 founding members including Peter Lanyon and Bernard Leach.
A skilled draughtsperson, Hepworth befriended surgeon Norman Capener after her daughter Sarah was hospitalised in 1944. Invited to watch surgeries, she produced nearly 80 drawings of operating rooms between 1947 and 1949 in chalk, ink, and pencil. She saw a close affinity between surgeons and artists. In 1950, her works were shown at the British Pavilion of the XXV Venice Biennale alongside Matthew Smith and John Constable—the last time contemporary British artists were exhibited there with historical figures.
- born
- 10 January 1903, Wakefield, Yorkshire
- died
- 20 May 1975, St Ives, Cornwall
- field
- Sculpture, drawing, lithography
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Modernist sculpture, pierced forms, co-founding Unit One
Lore & Background
Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Hepworth studied at Leeds School of Art and the Royal College of Art in the 1920s. She married the sculptor John Skeaping in 1925. In 1931 she fell in love with the painter Ben Nicholson, and in 1933 divorced Skeaping. At this time she was part of a circle of modern artists centred on Hampstead, London, and was one of the founders of the art movement Unit One. At the beginning of the Second World War Hepworth and Nicholson moved to St Ives, Cornwall, where she would remain for the rest of her life. Best known as a sculptor, Hepworth also produced drawings – including a series of sketches of operating rooms following the hospitalisation of her daughter in 1944 – and lithographs. She died in a fire at her studio in 1975.
Reader's Guide
Hepworth's early work was highly interested in abstraction and art movements on the continent. In 1931, Hepworth was the first to sculpt the pierced figures that are characteristic of both her own work and, later, that of Henry Moore. 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. Hepworth later became involved with the Paris-based art movement, Abstraction-Création. In 1933, Hepworth co-founded the Unit One art movement with Nicholson and Paul Nash, the critic Herbert Read, and the architect Wells Coates. The movement sought to unite Surrealism and abstraction in British art. Hepworth also helped raise awareness of continental artists amongst the British public. In 1937, she designed the layout for Circle: An International Survey of Constructivist Art, a 300-page book that surveyed Constructivist artists and that was published in London and edited by Nicholson, Naum Gabo, and Leslie Martin. Hepworth, with Nicholson, gave birth to triplets in 1934: Rachel, Sarah, and Simon. Hepworth, atypically, found a way to both take care of her children and continue producing her art. 'A woman artist', she argued, 'is not deprived by cooking and having children, nor by nursing children with measles (even in triplicate) – one is in fact nourished by this rich life, provided one always does some work each day; even a single half hour, so that the images grow in one's mind.' Hepworth married Nicholson on 17 November 1938 at Hampstead Register Office in north London, following his divorce from his wife Winifred. Rachel and Simon also became artists. Hepworth, Nicholson and their children went to live in Cornwall at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. 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. She said that 'Finding Trewyn Studio was sort of magic. Here was a studio, a yard, and garden where I could work in open air and space.' St Ives had become a refuge for many artists during the war. On 8 February 1949, Hepworth and Nicholson co-founded the Penwith Society of Arts at the Castle Inn; 19 artists were founding members, including Peter Lanyon and Bernard Leach. Hepworth
Did You Know?
- Hepworth was the first to sculpt pierced figures in 1931, a characteristic later seen in Henry Moore's work.
- Her eldest son Paul was killed in a plane crash in 1953 while serving with the Royal Air Force in Thailand.
- She produced nearly 80 drawings of operating rooms between 1947 and 1949 after her daughter Sarah was hospitalised.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth DBE (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was a major British sculptor and artist of the twentieth century." — Barbara Hepworth "He [Giovanni Ardini, Italian master-carver] opened up a new vista for me of the quality of form, light, and colour contained in the Mediterranean conception of carving." — Barbara Hepworth "Hepworth is here referring to Giovanni Ardini's remark that "marble changes colour under different people's hands" — Barbara Hepworth "Sculpture, to me, is primitive, religious, passionate, and magical." — Barbara Hepworth
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