Neglected Catalysts: The Function of Drawings and Paintings in Barbara Hepworth's Oeuvre‪.‬

This year sees the centenary of the birth of Barbara Hepworth (1903-75). A cause for celebration has in addition led, as one would hope, to attention being given to under-explored facets of the artist's work, and several neglected features of her oeuvre have been explored. For example, in an important exhibition earlier this year, the Tate Gallery in St Ives devoted a large space to some of Hepworth's gestural drawings and paintings--which proved surprisingly expressive and vigorous, given the generally accepted characterisation of their artist (Fig. 1). Attention has seldom been devoted to these experimental drawings and paintings, but they are certainly among the most interesting achievements of Hepworth's long and distinguished career. The conventional view has been that Hepworth drew and painted as an aside to sculpture--for example when materials were scarce during and after the World War II (Figs. 2 and 3). However, it will be argued here that two-dimensional works were much more important to Hepworth than has been thought previously, and that they may even be perceived as a catalyst in the process by which she altered her style and use of medium. Furthermore, it is important to recognise that she intended her drawings to be exhibited alongside her sculptures in order to explain the complex three-dimensional works. Perhaps surprisingly, Hepworth wished to indicate to the audience that she perceived her sculptures to be highly emotional and sometimes even 'violent', to use a term she herself employed about her own work.