Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Gardens, St. Ives

Dame Barbara Hepworth created sculptural forms derived from nature. She was especially inspired by the sea-washed rocks near her home in Cornwall. She was a key figure in the abstract movement in Britain. Her adherence to abstraction was lifelong and drew on geometric as well as organic shapes. She introduced into England the idea of piercing the solid mass of sculpture with a "hole," making the object more transparent.


I have visited the Hepworth gardens a number of times over the years during my visits to St. Ives. I love the style of her work and the way in which her often huge sculptures, made of materials such as stone, bronze and wood, seem to sit perfectly in the natural settings in which they are placed. It was the work of Hepwoth that inspired much of my A level Art work. The sketch above was one I did while sat in the Hepworth gardens. This sculpture below was another part of my A level work.