Born in Yorkshire in 1903, Barbara Hepworth was a British sculptor and a leading figure in the international art scene throughout a career spanning five decades. Barbara won a scholarship to study at the Leeds School of Art from 1920 and it was there that she met her fellow Yorkshiren artist Henry Moore. They became friends and established a friendly rivalry that would last for years. Hepworth successfully won a county scholarship to attend the Royal College of Art in London, and studied there from 1921 until she was awarded the diploma of the Royal College of Art in 1924.
As a woman in a largely male-dominated art-world, Barbara was very active considering the way her work was presented. She was very particular about documentation of her works, and collaborated closely with others. She established innovative ways to push the boundaries of her technique and thematic investigations and sustained a career that saw her mount a retrospective at Kröller-Müller Museum in 1965. She represented Britain at
the Venice Biennale in 1950 and won first prize at the São Paulo Bienal in 1959. She has influenced countless artists, designers, architects and performers such as Linder Sterling, Peter Jensen and Rebecca Warren citing her as an influential figure in their own creative practice. Barbara died on 20th May 1975 in St Ives, United Kingdom
