Barbara Hepworth

Private Collection (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 12, 1987, lot 451)
Private Collection, California (acquired at the above sale) 
Thence by descent

Collector's Choice XIII (exhibition catalogue), London, Gimpel Fils, 1965, no. 46, illustration of another cast n.p. 
Herbert Read, ed., Exhibition of Sculpture (exhibition catalogue), New York, Marlborough Gerson-Gallery, 1966, no. 27, illustration of another cast n.p.
Ronald Alley, ed., Barbara Hepworth Retrospective 1927-67 (exhibition catalogue), London, Tate Gallery, 1968, no. 148, illustrations of another cast pp. 40 & 60
Alan Bowness, ed., The Complete Sculpture of Barbara Hepworth, 1960-69, London, 1971, no. 375, illustrations of another cast p. 39
Alan G. Wilkinson, Barbara Hepworth The Art Gallery of Ontario Collection, Ontario, 1991, no. 13, illustrations of another cast pp. 36 & 46

This work is in very good condition. The bronze is sound. The rounded element and the base bear two different patinas and the varied finish is intentional. It has been recently polished and restrung in keeping with the original condition. There is a small hole visible on the reverse which is integral to the stringing.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Abstract and decidedly modern, Hollow Oval possesses a distinct beauty and sense of timelessness. In her aspiration towards universality, Hepworth embraced an abstract mode of expression. Throughout her career she focused much of her attention on the exploration of three basic sculptural structures, stating, “The forms which have had special meaning for me since childhood have been the standing form (which is the translation of my feeling towards the human being standing in landscape); two forms (which is the tender relationship of one living thing beside another); and the closed form, such as the oval, spherical or pierced form (sometimes incorporating colour) which translates for me the association and meaning of gesture in landscape; in the repose say of a mother and child or the feeling of the embrace of living things, either in nature or in the human spirit” (quoted in Barbara Hepworth, an exhibition of sculpture form 1952-1962 (exhibition catalogue), Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1962, n.p.). These elemental configurations allowed Hepworth to introduce both figurative and landscape elements, often drawn from her beloved Cornish coastline, into her abstract art.

Hepworth did not begin to use the ovular forms in her work until the early 1940s, as Abraham M. Hammacher explains, “Essential changes came about in the form of Hepworth’s sculptures once the spheres and circles decreased in number and the ovals increased. This occurred in 1943. It is not merely that ovals arrived on the scene but the holes in the masses become larger and more frequent too; they double, treble in number. Forms even acquire two centeres instead of one... The vitality which was expressed or symbolized in the centrality of the circle shifts towards the oval, in which centrality is abandoned in favour of two centers, entrances to the closed form, which thereby acquires the character of a connective form. The result is a more complicated interior form. Of necessity, the function of the strings becomes considerably more important” (Abraham M. Hammacher, The Sculpture of Barbara Hepworth, New York, 1968, p. 104). Hollow Oval, with is multiple entrances and specific use of string, exemplifies this transition in Hepworth’s work.