Barbara Hepworth and Greece

‘I have waited 30 yrs to see Greece’, Barbara Hepworth wrote while travelling through the Peloponnese and the Aegean and Cycladic islands in August 1954. At a turning point in Hepworth’s life and career, it would have a profound impact, leading her to reflect in 1964: ‘a whole decade later … It is deeply part of my work’ Shaping her thinking and expanding her artistic language, the memory of this transformative journey nourished Hepworth’s practice until the end of her life. Hepworth’s visceral encounter renewed her lifelong exploration of the relationship between the human figure and landscape. The colours, light, elemental forces and sense of space of Greece inspired some of her best-known works, including her extraordinary Guarea wood carvings and her Aegean Suite of lithographs. Beautifully illustrated and published to accompany the exhibition of the same title at Pallant House Gallery, Barbara Hepworth and Greece offers new insight into the work of Britain’s best-known modern artist. This is the first publication dedicated to Hepworth’s deep affinity for Greece – from her early fascination for classical culture, to the revelation she experienced after encountering its landscape, people and ancient art and architecture in 1954, through to the works of Greek inspiration she created in her last two decades.Distributed for Pallant House Gallery