The hundredth anniversary of Barbara Hepworth’s birth is being celebrated in her hometown of St Ives. For the first time since its opening a decade ago, Tate St Ives is devoting the whole gallery to a single artist (24 May-12 October). Their show brings together 70 works, including many which have not been exhibited in Britain for many years. It will be divided into seven themes, ranging from “Single form” (including early figurative sculptures) to “Inter-related masses” (white marble forms) (above, “Pelagos”, 1946). Just five minutes’ walk away is Hepworth’s studio, where she died in a fire in 1975. It is now a small museum and is also run by the Tate. Meanwhile the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, in West Bretton, will host another major centenary show (17 May-14 September). It will have 50 works, including a large outdoor display of sculptures that relate to landscape; Hepworth always wanted her sculptures to be seen outdoors. This exhibition concentrates on her later period, from 1957. In an unusual venture, Tate St Ives and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park are publishing a joint catalogue. Finally, there will be a smaller show of Hepworth bronzes and plasters at Wakefield Art Gallery (17 May-29 June).
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as 'Barbara Hepworth Centenary'