Modern & post-war British art Sotheby’s London showcasing spectacular works by Britain’s most pioneering artists from prestigious private collections.
‘The strokes of the hammer on the chisel should be in time with your heartbeat. You breathe easily. The whole of your body is involved.’
Barbara Hepworth was one of the most forward-thinking artists of her generation – achieving an international reputation that no other female British artist had matched. This lustrous, translucent sculpture, celebrating the primordial, struck a personal chord with the artist who cherished the piece in her studio long after its initial conception. Throughout Hepworth’s sculptural journey, direct carving in stone was the method and material that best allowed her to achieve her artistic aims. The importance of the artist’s hand remained central to Hepworth’s approach, as she forbade the use of any mechanical tools in her studios preferring the labour-intensive but ageold chisel and hammer. This echoed her idea of allowing the nature of the chosen material to dictate the final form of the work.
Dame Barbara Hepworth, Spiral, white alabaster, 1959 (est. £1,200,000-1,800,000)
Evening Auction: 12 June 2018 │ Day Auction: 13 June 2018