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Oval Form with Strings and Color

1966
Not on view
Barbara Hepworth rivals Henry Moore as the greatest British sculptor of the twentieth century and ranks as one of the most celebrated female sculptors of any age. The artist carved Oval Form directly from a massive log of English elm when she was at the height of her powers, and it is a key work of her maturity. The egglike shape is a souvenir of her life-changing visit to the Paris atelier of Constantin Brancusi in 1933, whereas the strings derive from the work of her close friends Naum Gabo and László Moholy-Nagy, refugees who became part of the circle of British artists around Hepworth and her husband, Ben Nicholson.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Oval Form with Strings and Color
  • Artist: Barbara Hepworth (British, 1903–1975)
  • Date: 1966
  • Medium: Elmwood, painted Elmwood, and cotton string
  • Dimensions: 30 1/2 × 21 5/8 × 21 1/4 in. (77.5 × 54.9 × 54 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of Hon. and Mrs. Peter I. B. Lavan, by exchange, 2007
  • Object Number: 2007.95
  • Rights and Reproduction: Barbara Hepworth © Bowness
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Maquette: Spindle Piece, Henry Moore British, Bronze
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