Field Notes: Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
Select-Works recently paid a visit to the iconic Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in the South West of England’s Cornwall, to produce a photo essay for our new outdoor art exploration series Field Notes.
A stone’s throw from the surf of Porthmeor Beach, lapping waves on the Cornish coast provides the backdrop to the preserved home studio and garden of modernist sculptor Barbara Hepworth. Set in the hilly heart of the beach town St Ives, stone-built Trewyn Studio is where the leading artist lived and worked from 1949 until her death in 1975. A deep inhale of the fresh sea air coupled with the sight of steep churning waves, it’s clear to see why the 20th-century sculptor chose to settle in this tranquil spot.
Following Hepworth’s final requests, Trewyn Studio was to be safeguarded by the artist’s family and opened as a museum to the public. Acting as both a living and workspace for the influential sculptor, original pieces of furniture and objects used by Hepworth can be seen as an insight into her brilliant inner world. The site holds the largest body of work by the sculptor and features photographs, articles and archived highlights from over the course of Hepworth’s established career.
The adjoining sculpture garden is home to the artist’s stone and plaster workshops, complete with scattered tools and unfinished works left as though they might be returned to momentarily. An impressive array of organic sculptures cast from mostly bronze and stone adorn the route of the tiered outside area, many of them still in their initial placements made by the sculptor. Iconic works including Walk Through and Two Forms (Divided Circle) stand boldly against the surrounding flora, their weathered, metallic surfaces glistening in the sunlight.
It’s fascinating to see such an iconic artist’s studio conserved so closely to its authentic state. The functioning workshops, home and garden of Hepworth paused at the very moment she departed from them. The experience feels similar to what I’d imagine stepping briefly into the sculptor’s remarkable mind would be like. It can only be described as truly honourable to be in such considerable close proximity to the home and legacy of a hugely influential 20th-century artist. The preservation of Trewyn Studio effortlessly proves Hepworth will forever remain a leading lady and true artistic pioneer of her time.
