Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden, St Ives - geograph

''Sphere with Inner Form'' (BH 333) is a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

sculpture by English artist

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

, with six castings made in 1963 and two more 1965. It is sometimes interpreted as a child in a pregnant woman's womb, or as a metaphor for the creation of a sculpture. The sculpture is on one of Hepworth's favourite themes, enclosure of space. The work has a smooth spherical bronze shell resting on a square bronze base, with three large rounded openings presenting a view of an irregular pierced bronze shape enclosed within. The brown polished outer surface of the sphere contrasts with the greenish patina inside. Hepworth said in her autobiography "There is an inside and outside to every form ... a nut in its shell or of a child in the womb". Hepworth first carved a plaster form on an aluminium armature to create a mould for the sculpture. Six copies were cast at the

Art Bronze Foundry Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what ...

in London in 1963, with an additional seventh copy for sale and one for the artist herself made in 1965. The outer shell was cast in pieces, with a welded joint over the top, and another weld to connect the sphere to the base. The spherical element measures standing on a square bronze base which measures . Hepworth donated a one copy of the work (cast 6/7) to an auction for the benefit of the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

in 1966. Hepworth's executors donated the artist's copy (cast 0/7) to the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

1980, in accordance with Hepworth's wishes. It is exhibited at the

Barbara Hepworth Museum The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in St Ives, Cornwall preserves the 20th-century sculptor Barbara Hepworth's studio and garden much as they were when she lived and worked there. She purchased the site in 1949 and lived and work ...

St Ives, Cornwall St Ives ( kw, Porth Ia, meaning "Ia of Cornwall, St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commerci ...

. Other examples are exhibited at the

Kröller-Müller Museum The Kröller-Müller Museum () is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller within the extensive grounds of her ...

Otterlo Otterlo is a village in the municipality of Ede of province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, in or near the Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe. The Kröller-Müller Museum, named after Helene Kröller-Müller, is situated nearby and has the world's ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(cast 4/7) and the

Whitworth Art Gallery The Whitworth is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The gallery is located in Whitworth Park and is part of the University of Manchester. In 2015, the Whitworth reopened after it was transfor ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

(cast 7/7). File:Hepworth circles fuschia.jpg,

File:Kroller muller museum.JPG,

File:KMM Hepworth Sphere with inner form.JPG, KMM Sculpturepark, Netherlands

References

''Sphere with Inner Form''
Tate Gallery *
Catalogue entry

Exhibiting Gender
Sarah Hyde, p. 46
''Sphere with Inner Form''
Kröller-Müller Museum
''Sphere with Inner Form''
Whitworth Art Gallery {{commons category, Sphere with Inner Form, ''Sphere with Inner Form'' 1963 sculptures Bronze sculptures in the United Kingdom Modernist sculpture Sculptures by Barbara Hepworth Outdoor sculptures in England