Barbara Hepworth

Estate of the artist
Pace Wildenstein, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above on July 10, 1996

London, Marlborough Gallery, Barbara Hepworth: The Family of Man - Nine Bronzes and Recent Carvings, April - May 1972, pp. 56 & 67, no. 19, illustrated
New York, Marlborough Gallery, Barbara Hepworth: Carvings and Bronzes, May - June 1979, p. 18, no. 7, illustrated
New Windsor, New York, Storm King Art Center, Barbara Hepworth, 1982, n.p., no. 1, illustrated
New York, Pace Wildenstein, Barbara Hepworth, Sculptures from the Estate, October - November 1996, p. 85, n.n., illustrated in color

Abraham M. Hammacher, Barbara Hepworth, New York, 1998, p. 196, illustrated 
Mildred Glimcher, ed. Adventures in Art, 40 Years at Pace, Milan, 2001, p. 513, illustrated in color

In her aspiration towards universality, Hepworth embraced an abstract mode of expression, avoiding any narrative in her compositions. With its solid geometric shapes, Solitary Form possesses a sense of timelessness and a static grandeur of totems. Around the time she created the present work, Hepworth wrote about the meaning that she assigned to many of her sculptures: “Working in the abstract way seems to realize one’s personality and sharpen the perceptions so that in the observation of humanity or landscape it is the wholeness of inner intention which moves one so profoundly. The components fall into place and one is no longer aware of the detail except as the necessary significance of wholeness and unity… a rhythm of form which has its roots in earth but reaches outwards towards the unknown experiences of the figure. The thought underlying this form is, for me, the delicate balance the spirit of man maintains between his knowledge and the laws of the universe.” (B. Hepworth, Barbara Hepworth. A Pictorial Autobiography, Bath, 1970, p. 93) As evidenced by Solitary Form, Hepworth drew her inspiration from a variety of aesthetic sources, including the monumental work of her contemporary Henry Moore, as well as the organic and elegant stone carvings of Brancusi and Arp. The artist herself acknowledged the powerful influence of both the landscape – particularly the ancient stone sites of Cornwall - and its pagan history on her work. Hepworth lived in Cornwall for more than half her life, first moving there in the summer of 1939. The surrounding landscape, with its ancient standing stones, dramatic coastline and remarkable quality of light, had an immense impact on her artistic practice. As she wrote of her early years there, “It was during this time that I gradually discovered the remarkable pagan landscape which lies between St. Ives, Penzance and Land’s End; a landscape which still has a very deep effect on me, developing all my ideas about the relationship of the human figure in the landscape.” (quoted in Barbara Hepworth. A Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), Tate Gallery, Liverpool, 1994, p. 81) The influence of this landscape is particularly evident in the work from the last decade of her life, when she returned to explore the forms that had been central to her earlier production, including the single standing form.

An important example of Hepworth’s late work, Solitary Form is an elegant marble that beautifully illustrates her complete mastery of the medium. Carving was the artist’s predominant form of expression and the method through which she produced some of her most celebrated works. The introduction to carving came during the period Hepworth spent in Italy as a student, and it was also there that she was first drawn to the material properties of marble, and particularly to the white marbles that she would continue to use for the rest of her life. However, for Hepworth it was necessary to combine the material properties of the medium with a deeper sense of meaning, as she explained: “In sculpture there must be a complete realization of the structure and quality of the stone or wood which is being carved. But I do not think this alone supplies the life and vitality of the sculpture. I believe that the understanding of the material and the meaning of the form being carved must be in perfect equilibrium.” (quoted in Exh. cat., London, Whitechapel Gallery, Barbara Hepworth Retrospective Exhibition 1927-1954, 1954, p. 10)



This work will be included in the revised catalogue raisonné of Hepworth's sculpture being prepared by Dr. Sophie Bowness under the catalogue no. BH 533.