This brilliant exhibition at the Hepworth Wakefield unites two titans of 20th-century art: Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. Why? Because both artists grew up in Yorkshire and claimed the landscape as a formative artistic influence.
Taking inspiration from the rugged coastline of Cornwall, where she moved from London following the outbreak of the Second World War, Hepworth carved smooth, undulating forms that echoed the natural world. Some of her works are even titled after specific places she visited, such as Mincarlo, a bay off the Isles of Scilly. Indeed, Hepworth was so struck by the beauty, light and open spaces of Cornwall that she wrote in 1952, ‘there must be magic in this country around here.’
Moore was more interested in exploring the affinity between human beings and the landscape. So, it’s hardly surprising that a visit to Stonehenge in 1921, when he was a student at the Royal College of Art in London, had such a formative impact on his practice. So much so, in fact, that he created a series of detailed lithographs of the stones some 50 years later.
Shown alongside works by Hepworth and Moore are contemporary works by Emii Alrai and Ro Robertson, who are inspired by Yorkshire and Cornish landscapes respectively. Book your train tickets now!
