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Barbara Hepworth Art

British, 1903-1975

Barbara Hepworth was born in 1903 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire. Hepworth attended the Leeds School of Art from 1920. There, she met fellow sculptor Henry Moore, who she maintained a friendly rivalry with throughout her career. 

From Leeds, Hepworth went on to attend the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, where she studied from 1921–24. Following her studies in London, Hepworth traveled to Italy. She began this journey in Florence, where she was the runner-up for the Prix-de-Rome, losing only to sculptor John Skeaping, whom she began a relationship with. The pair traveled to Siena and Rome and were married in 1925 in Florence.

During her time in Italy, Hepworth studied under sculptor Giovanni Ardini and learned how to carve marble. Upon her return to London, Hepworth and Skeaping began to publicly exhibit from their flat until their divorce in 1929. Hepworth’s early work reflects her interest in European art movements, particularly Italian Abstraction. 

In 1931, Hepworth began to sculpt her characteristic pierced figures, and Henry Moore followed suit. The pair led the path to modernist sculpture. Hepworth later became involved with the Parisian art movement, Abstraction-Création. 

In 1933, Hepworth and Ben Nicholson co-founded with Paul Nash, Herbert Read and architect Wells Coates the Unit One art movement, with the agenda to unite Surrealist practice with abstraction in contemporary British art. Hepworth moved to St. Ives, Cornwall with her second husband Nicholson and their children at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Hepworth lived and worked in Trewyn Studios. 

Many other British artists likewise found refuge and space in Cornwall to continue working during the war, and in its aftermath, Hepworth founded the Penwith Society of Arts in 1949. 

In 1950, Hepworth exhibited in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Two of her public commissions were exhibited at the Festival of Britain in 1951, and in 1953 she traveled to Greece, a trip which inspired her celebrated six-piece sculpture collection carved from Guarea wood between 1954–56. In 1955, Hepworth began to exhibit in the USA, beginning with the Martha Jackson Gallery. Preferring the European art market, she exhibited solo at Galerie Chalette, France in 1957, and her lithographs were hung in Marlborough Fine Art in 1970. 

The Barbara Hepworth Museum in St Ives and the Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire permanently exhibit her work in honor of her contributions to both places that the artist at times called home. Her collectors include the Tate, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongrewa and the Lynden Sculpture Garden.

Hepworth was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1959 Sao Paulo Art Biennal, the Freedom of St Ives in 1968, a CBE in 1958, and a DBE in 1965. In 2015, the Tate Britain held the first big solo exhibition of Hepworth’s work since her death, bringing together more than 70 of her works.

Find Barbara Hepworth art for sale on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Shapero Modern)

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Barbara Hepworth, Three Forms Assembling - Signed Print, 1968, Abstract Art
Barbara Hepworth, Three Forms Assembling - Signed Print, 1968, Abstract Art

Barbara Hepworth, Three Forms Assembling - Signed Print, 1968, Abstract Art

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in Hamburg, DE

Barbara Hepworth (British, 1903-1975) Three Forms Assembling, 1968 Medium: Lithograph on Japan paper Dimensions: 69.5 x 50 cm Edition of 35 (XXXV): Hand-signed and numbered Portfolio...

Category

20th Century Abstract Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Lithograph

Moonplay (1972) (signed)
Moonplay (1972) (signed)

Moonplay (1972) (signed)

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in Woodbury, CT

Signed lithograph in colours, 1972, on wove paper, signed in pencil, numbered 129/200, published by Cercle Graphique Européen, with their blindstamp, in good condition, framed 76 x ...

Category

1970s Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Lithograph

Sea Forms (1969) (signed)
Sea Forms (1969) (signed)

Sea Forms (1969) (signed)

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in Woodbury, CT

A original Lithograph in black and yellow with embossing on wove paper. Signed and numbered in pencil by the artist. Edition 30/60. Sheet size 58 x 82cm. Published with the blindstam...

Category

1960s Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Lithograph

Rangatira 2 (1969)
Rangatira 2 (1969)

Rangatira 2 (1969)

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in Woodbury, CT

Screenprint in colours, 1970, from Opposing Forms, signed in pencil, numbered 13 out of 60, published by Marlborough Fine Art, London, on TH Saunders wove paper. 78 x 57 cm.

Category

1960s Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Screen

Square and circles (1969) (signed)
Square and circles (1969) (signed)

Square and circles (1969) (signed)

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in Woodbury, CT

A original Lithograph printed in colours, on wove. Signed and numbered by the artist. Printed by Curwen Prints, London, with their blindstamp, with margins in 1969. Edition 24/30. Sh...

Category

1960s Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Lithograph

Winter Solstice - British Sculpture Abstract St Ives
Winter Solstice - British Sculpture Abstract St Ives

Winter Solstice - British Sculpture Abstract St Ives

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in London, GB

This original screenprint in colours is hand signed in pencil by the artist "Barbara Hepworth" in the lower right image. It is also hand numbered in pencil 44 from the edition of 150, at the lower right image, below the signature. It was printed by Rose and Chris Prater of Kelpra Studios, London and co-published by Lund Humphries, London and Praeger Publishers, New York in 1971. This screenprint was included in the 1971 catalogue raisonné of Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures...

Category

1970s Abstract Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Screen

Barbara Hepworth, Rangatira II, 1969-70
Barbara Hepworth, Rangatira II, 1969-70

Barbara Hepworth, Rangatira II, 1969-70

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in London, GB

A lesser known side of Barbara Hepworth’s artistic oeuvre are her works on paper. Showcasing her incredible draftmanship, the artist said of her ‘Opposing Form’s’ series, that the dr...

Category

1960s Abstract Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Screen

Forms in a Flurry
Forms in a Flurry

Forms in a Flurry

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in London, GB

Screenprint in colours, 1969-70, signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 60 (total edition includes ten artist's proofs) published by Marlborough AG Schellenberg, FL, 77.7 ...

Category

1960s Abstract Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Screen

Barbara Hepworth, Squares and Circles, 1969
Barbara Hepworth, Squares and Circles, 1969

Barbara Hepworth, Squares and Circles, 1969

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in London, GB

Lithograph printed in colours, 1969, signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 60, on handmade Barcham Green paper, printed and published by the Curwen Studio, with their bli...

Category

1960s Abstract Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Lithograph

Desert Forms, from Aegean Suite by Barbara Hepworth, 1971
Desert Forms, from Aegean Suite by Barbara Hepworth, 1971

Desert Forms, from Aegean Suite by Barbara Hepworth, 1971

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in Kingsclere, GB

Desert Forms, from Aegean Suite by Barbara Hepworth, 1971 Additional information: Medium: lithograph with embossing 81 x 59 cm 31 7/8 x 23 1/4 in signed Barbara Hepworth was one of...

Category

20th Century Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Lithograph

Squares and Circles, from Twelve Lithographs by Barbara Hepworth, 1969
Squares and Circles, from Twelve Lithographs by Barbara Hepworth, 1969

Squares and Circles, from Twelve Lithographs by Barbara Hepworth, 1969

By Barbara Hepworth

Located in Kingsclere, GB

Squares and Circles, from Twelve Lithographs by Barbara Hepworth, 1969 Additional information: Medium: lithograph 58 x 80 cm 22 7/8 x 31 1/2 in signed and numbered in pencil Barbar...

Category

20th Century Barbara Hepworth Art

Materials

Lithograph

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Barbara Hepworth art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Barbara Hepworth art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Barbara Hepworth in lithograph, screen print, bronze and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Barbara Hepworth art, so small editions measuring 6 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Ben Nicholson, Sir Terry Frost, and Alan Davie. Barbara Hepworth art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $9,274 and tops out at $120,000, while the average work can sell for $10,194.

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