Object Details
Artist
Barbara Hepworth, British, b. Wakefield, England, 1903–1975
Provenance
The artist, Cornwall, 1952-ca. 1955
Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, ca. 1955-January 25, 1957
Joseph H. Hirshhorn purchased from Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, 1957
Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Exhibition History
LEFEVRE GALLERY, London. "New Sculpture and Drawings by Barbara Hepworth," October 1952, no. 15 (as "Head (elegy)").
WHITECHAPEL ART GALLERY, London. "Barbara Hepworth: A Retrospective Exhibition of Carvings and Drawings from 1927 to 1954," 8 April-6 June 1954, no. 148, p. 28, pl. 0 (as "Head," 1953, Collection the artist).
WALKER ART CENTER, Minneapolis. "Barbara Hepworth: Carvings and Drawings 1937-1954," 15 April-29 May 1955 (organized by Martha Jackson Gallery), no. 15. Tour: UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA ART GALLERIES, Lincoln, 15 June-15 August; SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF ART, 1 September-16 October; ALBRIGHT ART GALLERY, Buffalo, 9 November-15 December; ART GALLERY OF TORONTO, 1 January-15 February 1956; MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, 1-31 March; BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART, 15 April-30 June; [2 more museums July-November]; MARTHA JACKSON GALLERY, New York, 19 December-26 January 1957.
DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS. "Sculpture in Our Time: Collected by Joseph H. Hirshhorn," 5 May-23 August 1959, no. 105, ill. p. 48. Tour: MILWAUKEE ART CENTER, 10 September-11 October; WALKER ART CENTER, Minneapolis, 25 October-6 December; WILLIAM ROCKHILL NELSON GALLERY OF ART, Kansas City, Missouri, 20 December-31 January 1960; MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, Houston, 1-27 March 1960; LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF HISTORY, SCIENCE, AND ART, 11 April-15 May; M.H. DE YOUNG MEMORIAL MUSEUM, San Francisco, 29 May-10 July; COLORADO SPRINGS FINE ARTS CENTER, 24 July-4 September; ART GALLERY OF TORONTO, 30 September-31 October.
SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, New York. "Modern Sculpture from the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Collection," 3 October 1962-3 January 1963, p. 217, no. 206, ill. p. 152.
TATE GALLERY, London. "Barbara Hepworth," 3 April-19 May 1968, no. 64, ill. p. 25.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Barbara Hepworth: The Hirshhorn Museum Collection," 23 April-19 June 1981, no cat.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Direct Carving in Modern Sculpture: Selections from the Museum's Collection," 6 October-27 November 1983, no. 20.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institiution, Washington, DC. "Put It This Way: (Re)Visions of the Hirshhorn Collection," 24 June 2022-16 July 2023, no cat.
Published References
Heron, Patrick. "Barbara Hepworth--Carver, " Arts Digest 29/15 (May 1, 1955), p. 9.
Read, Herbert. The Art of Sculpture (London: Faber and Faber, 1956), ill. 213 (erroneously credited to University of Nebraska Art Gallery).
Laverne, George. "In the Galleries: Barbara Hepworth," Arts 31 (February 1957), p. 54.
Hammacher, A.M. Barbara Hepworth (Cologne and Berlin: Kiepenheuer and Witsch, 1958; English trans., London: Universe Books, 1959), ill. 15.
Detroit News, (May 3, 1959), p. 25.
Fish, Margaret. "Moderns' Diversity Dominates Great Sculpture Show," Milwaukee Sentinel (September 27, 1959), ill. p. D-6.
Kulterman, Udo. "Englische Plastik der Gegenwart," Das Kunstwerk 12/7 (January 1959), ill. p. 6.
Duval, Paul. "Accent on Art: You Must Take a Look at this Fine Collection," Toronto Telegram (October 1, 1960), ill.
Toronto Daily Star (October 1, 1960), ill.
Hodin, J.P. Barbara Hepworth (New York: David McKay, 1961), no. 184, ill.
Kaufman, Betty. "Hirshhorn: The Collector's Art." Commonweal 77 (November 9, 1962), p. 182.
Hammacher, A.M. The Sculpture of Barbara Hepworth (English trans. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1968), ill. p. 122.
Goldwater, Robert. What is Modern Sculpture? (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1969), ill, p. 61.
Hammacher, A.M. The Evolution of Modern Sculpture: Tradition and Innovation (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1969), ill. p. 252.
Rhinelander, Philip H. Is Man Comprehensible to Man? ( Stanford University: The Portable Stanford, Summer 1973), ill. p. 67 (reprt. San Franscisco: WH Freeman, 1974).
Lerner, Abram et al. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1974), pp. 434, 702, ill. no. 627 (not in exhibition).
Unsigned. "Sculptural Purist," MD (Medical News Magazine) 18/11 (November 1974), ill. p. 129 (reprt. in Spanish trans., 14/11, November 1976, ill. p. 87).
Kavier, Ellen. Sculpture (New York: Newsweek Books, 1975), ill. p. 147.
WOMEN'S PROGRAM OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. Women Artists: A Checklist of Works in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1979), ill.
Rosenfeld, Lucy Davidson. Women Artists from Ancient to Modern Times (Portland: J Weston Walch, 1989), p. 42.
Liebson, Milt. Direct Wood Sculpture: Techniques, Innovation, Creativity (Atlglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2001), p. 90.
AQUIN, STEPHANE, et al. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: The Collection (New York: DelMonico Books, 2022), pl. 98, p. 115.
Credit Line
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Date
(1952)
Accession Number
66.2438
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Mahogany and string on wood base
Dimensions
18 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 8 in. (47 × 26.7 × 20.3 cm)
See more items in
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School
British Modernist Sculpture
On View
Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC), 2nd Floor
Data Source
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Link to Original Record
Record ID
hmsg_66.2438