Dame Barbara Hepworth

The board appears to be in excellent original condition and is providing a good sound support. The paint surface also appears to be in beautiful original condition, sound and stable throughout. Inspection under UV light does not reveal any later retouchings. Attractively presented 'floated' against a white backboard within a simple white painted box frame in good condition. Ready for the wall. Please note that the background colour is a bright rust red rather than the brown that appears in the catalogue photograph.
"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."

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.

One of the most noticeable features of the paintings produced after the Greek trip was in the handling of the background on which Hepworth drew. Whilst the earlier pieces, as in lot 61, had used a white gesso that was rubbed and stained to create a surface that allowed the white of the ground to glow through the colour above it, Works such as Longstone show a complete reversal of this practice, with a thickly textured and freely brushed gesso over a coloured base, a surface that acts independently of the image above it.

The drawing itself, with its masterful control and balance, acts in complete counterpoint to the rushing surface below, and in its openness and organic forms echoes those similar traits that were appearing in her contemporary sculpture, such as Corinthos of 1954-5 (collection Tate).