Oval Form – from St Ives to Kendal

At first glance, these two towns may not appear to have much in common; one almost as far south as you can get and the other in Cumbria. However, on closer inspection there are more similarities than you might think. Cobbled streets, independent shops and world-class galleries.

However, the common thread I want to focus on is work by Barbara Hepworth. Perhaps not the most obvious connection but Kendal recently welcomed back Oval Form (Trezion) to its pride of place at Abbot Hall Art Gallery. The large bronze sculpture stood outside the gallery from 1966, when it was purchased directly from Barbara Hepworth at her studio in St Ives by the gallery’s first Director, Helen Kapp.

For over 50 years the piece graced the grounds of Abbot Hall, only being removed in 2021 to go “on tour” as part of a major retrospective exhibition about Barbara Hepworth. Oval Form (Trezion) visited the Hepworth Wakefield and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, allowing thousands of people to have an opportunity to view the piece. As part of the tour, the sculpture was cleaned and restored before being returned to its long term home in Kendal, made possible
with support from the Henry Moore Foundation.

Oval Form (Trezion), Barbara Hepworth. Back on display outside Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal. Copyright Alison Shaw

Barbara Hepworth was a northern girl, born in Wakefield in 1903, who went on to become one of the most important British sculptors of the 20th century and together with her first husband, John Skeaping, promoted the forward thinking practice of direct carving, ie working straight on to the chosen materials rather than making small maquettes, or scale models, for the craftsman to work from.

She studied at the Leeds School of Art, alongside fellow sculptor, Henry Moore (you can certainly see similarities in their respective works), before continuing her studies at the Royal College of Art in London. Barbara later moved to St Ives, which was, and continues to be, a very popular destination for artists of all genres; she remained there for the rest of her life. Trewyn House was where she lived in St Ives and this is now the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden and part of the Tate St Ives.

Looking through the hole in one of “Family of Man ”, Barbara Hepworth, Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Copyright Alison Shaw

Moving further north, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near West Bretton, houses the “Family of Man ” a series of nine sculptures each representing a stage of life and sited on a hillside within the grounds of the gallery. This was one of Barbara’s last large pieces she created in the 1970s before her death in 1975. A recurring theme within her pieces are holes. She said it was a way of showing the insides of the sculpture as well as the outside and she also wrote “I think every person looking at a sculpture should use [their] own body. You can’t look at a sculpture if you’re going to stand stiff as a ramrod and stare at it. With a sculpture you must walk around it [or] bend towards it…” Holes also let light through heavy blocks of stone, wood and metal and you can look through these pierced holes and spaces to frame the view before you.

A short distance away is the Hepworth Wakefield, which opened in 2011 in the former Wakefield Art Gallery as a legacy to Barbara Hepworth in her home town and to house the city’s art collection, which includes significant works by some of the leading British avant garde artists of the 20th century, donated as generous gifts from wealthy industrialists in the area.

One of “Family of Man ” Barbara Hepworth, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton. Copyright Alison Shaw

This brings us back up to Kendal and Abbot Hall Art Gallery, which has undergone a huge refurbishment programme and has collections by prominent artists such as Winifred Nicholson, Kurt Schwitters and George Romney. Barbara Hepworth’s use of bronze meant that many of her works could be displayed outside, something she referred to as “the perfect setting…. allowing pieces to grow and breathe”. This perfectly sums up, to me anyway, the location of Oval Form (Trezion) , sited as it is in a large circle of grass with plenty of space around it where the sun catches the material beautifully.

If you are venturing further north, as in much, much further north, you might also like to visit the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, Orkney, which houses a significant collection of work by major 20th century artists and sculptors, donated by its founder Margaret Gardiner. The Pier Arts Centre is accredited as a Recognised Collection of National Significance to Scotland.

En route, you might wish to break your journey at the National Gallery of Scotland: Modern in Edinburgh and/or the Aberdeen Art Gallery, both of which have pieces by Barbara Hepworth in their collections.

What a road trip this could turn out to be and remember, the return journey could include visits to Leeds Art Gallery, the Ashmolean in Oxford and the Tate Britain in London, all of which have works by Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975).

 

About the Author

Alison Shaw, is a Cumbria Blue Badge Tourist Guide. She has been a Cumbrian resident for twenty years, and loves showing visitors Cumbria’s hidden gems- from its rugged coastline and castles to its rich industrial heritage. Alison specialises in finding beauty beyond the popular Lake District, focusing on “working landscapes” and the traditional crafts shaped by the region’s natural resources. Whether you’re taking your first trip or a return journey to the region, Alison will be delighted to help make your visit unforgettable. Meet Alison here