Barbara Hepworth retrospective – and how to buy her art for £75

I'm a little breathless about yesterday's news that a big Barbara Hepworth retrospective is coming to Tate Britain next year. 

I saw Hepworth's work some years ago, in a show at Tate St Ives (in the town so dear to me): the Tate Britain show promises to be very good indeed, but the Cornish branch was possibly the most spectacular building in which to view her curvaceous, earthy work – and not just because it was the mid-century sculptor's adopted home and workplace.

If you've been to the beach-side gallery, you'll know the central plinth inside the front of the building, beyond which you can see the waves crashing into Porthmeor Beach beyond, sand, sky and water lit up with that unique, luminous St Ives light. Imagine now looking at that view not just through the circle of the windows, but also through the void in the middle of a giant Hepworth artwork. Magical.

The Tate Britain show, opening in Summer 2015, will be the first Hepworth retrospective in London since 1968 and will feature more than 70 works, including rarely exhibited pieces, pre-war carvings that survived the bombing of her studio and the artist's use of photography and film. (Random fact unconnected to Hepworth, but connected to St Ives and the war: my dad was a small boy in the 1940s and, while in St Ives visiting his grandmother, had to hide behind rocks on the little beach next to Tate St Ives as enemy planes flew overhead and shot at him and his father.

I'm digressing wildly. And this isn't just an excuse to publish images of some of my favourite pieces of her work. If you can't wait until 2015 to come to the big smoke and get your fix – did you know that John Lewis is currently selling a collection of beautiful reproduction Barbara Hepworth prints (pictured above and below)?

They're £75 each and are exclusive to John Lewis as part of the celebrations of the store's 150th anniversary.

The artworks were chosen because one of Barbara Hepworth's sculptures, Winged Figure, commissioned by John Lewis and installed in the early 1960s, adorns the exterior of the flagship London branch. You can see and read about the interesting story behind the six-foot sculpture on the excellent My Friend's House blog.

But don't go yet – you can also see some of Hepworth's rarely-seen drawings in this archive post by contributing ed, Abi.

Happy weekend all – and I'm off for a couple of weeks, partly taking little break in the sun and partly obsessing over what DIY chores around the house I can get stuck into. That's just how some people relax. You of all people should understand...


The Barbara Hepworth retrospective takes place at Tate Britain next summer; also part of the Tate's 2015 programme are major exhibitions including Jackson Pollock, Frank Auerbach, Marlene Dumas and Alexander Calder, kinetic sculptor and inventor of the mobile. 

Images: John Lewis, Tate.org and Hepworth Estate for the photograph of Barbara Hepworth in the Palais studio in 1963 with unfinished wood carving Hollow Form with White Interior, taken by Val Wilmer.

Post by Kate

Barbara Hepworth – the hospital drawings

Over to Abi for today's post... 

When you think of Barbara Hepworth I'm sure you get a headful of smooth, elegant anthropomorphic shapes springing to mind but the new show at the Pallant in Chichester might offer a different perspective on this remarkable artist's talents.

Barbara Hepworth with one of her sculptures, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

Opening tomorrow is the 'Hospital Drawings' exhibition; a series of over 30 drawings and paintings made by Hepworth during the late 1940s depicting surgeons at work in their operating theatres.

Yes, an odd departure for one of our foremost sculptors but by crikey they don't half demonstrate what a skilled draughtswoman she was.

The works came about after the hospitalisation of Hepworth's daughter Sarah in 1944; Norman Capener, the surgeon who treated Sarah at the hospital in Exeter was himself an artist and the subsequent friendship they struck up led to Hepworth being invited to observe several surgical procedures between 1947-49.

And the results are really quite beautiful; the ghostly drapes of the surgeons scrubs give them an ethereal quality that hints at angelic beings as they go about their work; this is offset by the solidity in the hands and fingers – you can see the sculptors eye moving over them and drawing their strength: the scalpel held delicately like a paintbrush, the adjustment of a surgical glove as elegant as a Bronzino portrait.

Hepworth said herself, shortly after completing the series of works: “There is, it seems to me, a close affinity between the work and approach both of physicians and surgeons, and painters and sculptors.” These works really do demonstrate an artist's mind at work; drawing inspiration from these unique circumstances she's privy to witnessing; storing them up for future reference in those fantastic sculptures of hers.

The works too, can't fail to, bring to mind Henry Moore's famous underground shelter drawings; extraordinary but nevertheless everyday situations and occurrences rendered with a keen eye for social documentation but executed with an emotional connection they serve as important historical commentary.

It's also rather wonderful that the exhibition coincides with the 65^th anniversary of the launch of the NHS in 1948.

Barbara Hepworth – The Hospital Drawings at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester opens tomorrow (16 Feb) and runs until 2 June.

New term inspiration

However long you’ve been out of university or school, that new term feeling can still kick in around now. 

And even if there is no actual new term in your life, the general vibe of fresh starts can still be channelled to spark enthusiasm for learning something new or simply getting inspired to re-do things differently. Here are some suggestions to help your home to benefit…

This autumn and winter, West Dean college in Chichester has some great furniture-based classes. They've just run a beginners' make-your-own-and-take-it-home modern Windsor chair course (above), which should be on again in coming months. Later on there are furniture recycling sessions, simple furniture-making for novices and basic woodworking. It is a beautiful part of the country, too – make it into a mini-break. See westdean.org.uk and search for short courses.

If you’d rather teach yourself at home, check out the shop section of studiomama.com – run by the excellent product designer, Nina Tolstrup. Here you can download illustrated instructions for making your own chair, lamp or stool – from pallets, like the one above. The PDFs cost £10 each, and the stool one is free.

I have been a big fan of the quilt designer, Cassandra Ellis, since I did one of her interiors classes last year. She is so inspiring – and never more than when talking about her biggest love, quilts. She has a book out in October called Quilt Love (Jacqui Small) and it really gets across the wonderfully slow process of stitching together feelings and stories to make something from treasured bits of fabric – whether to give as a present (for a wedding, perhaps, or to celebrate the life of a loved one) – and the instructions are clear, simple and the results, beautiful (she even provides details of somewhere you can send off your great idea and fabrics, and get someone else to do the hard bit). 

The back pages of Ellis’s book also include a great section on where to go to gather ideas for designing your own quilt. But could trigger ideas for all sorts of interiors revamps too: inspiring away days (or weekends) include the Rothko room at the Tate Modern (though possibly not right now, with today's sad news about the graffiti there), Kelmscott Manor,Gloucester (William Morris’s “most evocative house”, see top image above) the Vita Sackville-West designed gardens at Sissinghurst Castle, Kent, and the Barbara Hepworth museum and sculpture garden in St Ives (above, bottom – Hepworth's studio, and one of her beautifully tactile sculptures). Scour websites like Mocoloco.com and English-heritage.org.uk and devise your own hit-list.

As the nights cosy up, and the sofa gets a grip on you – make it a creative event and get in DVDs of films full of exciting interiors. A great way to fuel inspiration if you’re planning a new-season re-vamp. The Apartment Therapy blog has a fantastic list of their favourites to get you started (see their 'A Single Man' montage, above). My own recent ‘I want to live there’ movies include Moonrise Kingdom (amazing colours!) and Take This Waltz (quirky, well-ordered clutter).