Barbara Hepworth: artist in society 1948-52

We are requesting funding to support an exhibition of internationally important sculptures and drawings by Barbara Hepworth, as well as archival material, that focuses on the period 1948-52. The exhibition is co-curated by Dr Sophie Bowness (Barbara Hepworth Estate) and Annabel Lucas (UHArts). The exhibition ‘Barbara Hepworth: artist in society 1948-52’ encourages new thinking about a significant period in Hepworth’s work immediately after the Second World War, when she began to receive wider recognition. This, the first exhibition of its kind, reunites works that have not been seen together since they were first created. The exhibition will contribute significantly to public awareness of Hepworth as a person and an artist, throwing new light on her sculptural practice at a moment of personal and professional change. During 1948-52, a connection was formed between Hepworth and Hertfordshire through a number of acquisitions and commissions. It was also a period when Hepworth returned to the human form following a decade preoccupied with landscape. In 1949 she acquired Trewyn Studio, which affected her life and work profoundly. Through the lens of this short period in Hepworth’s career, the exhibition considers broader sculptural production in post war Britain.