Why Barbara Hepworth painted the hollows of her sculptures with vivid blues and yellows

Art · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Barbara Hepworth is celebrated for abstract forms inspired by the rugged Cornish coast. Yet, a lesser-known aspect of her genius was a lifelong, innovative obsession with colour. By painting the interiors of her carved wood and stone sculptures, she transformed negative space into a vital, expressive element of her work.

Born in 1903 in Wakefield, Barbara Hepworth became a defining figure of 20th-century modernism. While she is primarily remembered for her abstract, three-dimensional forms, her practice was deeply rooted in nature and the landscape of St Ives, Cornwall, where she moved at the outbreak of the Second World War. Her work often challenged traditional definitions of sculpture, which had long focused on solid mass and representation. Instead, Hepworth embraced the 'negative elements'—the voids and hollows—as integral to her design.

Central to this approach was her pioneering use of colour. In the 1940s, she began carving wood and stone, piercing the material to create internal spaces that she highlighted with vivid pigments like blue and yellow. She viewed these painted cavities as a way to expand the role of sculpture, creating a dialogue between the physical form and the viewer's perception. As she noted to her son-in-law, art historian Alan Bowness, her use of colour was often accepted but rarely truly understood.

Hepworth’s artistic range extended far beyond carving. She was a prolific draughtsperson, producing nearly 80 drawings of operating rooms between 1947 and 1949 after befriending a surgeon. She saw a profound affinity between the precision of medical procedures and the creative process of artists. Whether working in bronze, stone, or wood, her career remained a constant exploration of how form and colour could capture the essence of human relationships, leaving behind a legacy that continues to challenge how we experience space and art.

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