- 77
Dame Barbara Hepworth
Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 GBP
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Description
- Barbara Hepworth
- abstract forms
- signed and dated 60
- oil and pencil on board
- 44.5 by 64cm.; 17½ by 25½in.
Exhibited
Ontario, Art Gallery of Ontario, lent by the present owner in 1979.
Condition
The board is in good overall condition.
The paint surface is in good overall condition.
There is no sign of retouching under ultra-violet light.
Held behind glass within a silk slip in a gilded wooden and plaster frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Until the move to Cornwall in 1939, sculpture had always been Hepworth's prime concern. However, the combination of a young family, the lack of a proper studio (the Nicholson-Hepworth family were sharing Adrian Stokes' house, 'Little Parc Owles', in Carbis Bay) and the difficulty of obtaining suitable materials meant that the artist began to draw more and more, often using relatively small-scale gessoed boards as a support.
Initially, the subjects were figurative, studies of the nude or the well-known series depicting surgeons in theatre. However, the freedom of the medium became an investigative tool for her sculpture, exploring forms and dynamics. In 1954, Hepworth made a trip to Greece with her friend Margaret Gardiner, visiting numerous ancient sites and finding enormous inspiration in the landscape, both natural and man-made. The works that followed, both sculpted and drawn, demonstrate the impact of this trip, often in the titles, and the forms used.
Initially, the subjects were figurative, studies of the nude or the well-known series depicting surgeons in theatre. However, the freedom of the medium became an investigative tool for her sculpture, exploring forms and dynamics. In 1954, Hepworth made a trip to Greece with her friend Margaret Gardiner, visiting numerous ancient sites and finding enormous inspiration in the landscape, both natural and man-made. The works that followed, both sculpted and drawn, demonstrate the impact of this trip, often in the titles, and the forms used.
The interweaving lines of the present work are clearly related to the stringing between tensed metal planes that is such a distinctive element of a number of Hepworth's sculptures in the late 1950s such as the Curlew and Orpheus groups.