Reclining Figure (Landscape Rosewall)
Maker and role
Artist: Barbara Hepworth, British, 1903-1975
Year
1957
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Object detail
Media/Materials
Bronze
Measurements
15 13/16 x 50 x 8in (40.2 x 127 x 20.3cm)
Credit line
Gift of the Estate of Tom Slick
Accession number
1973.30
Object type
Department
Location
Further information
Barbara Hepworth made Reclining Figure (Landscape Rosewall) in 1957, one year after she created a workshop for casting bronze sculpture. Before 1956, Hepworth directly carved the majority of her work from stone, wood, marble, and other natural materials. After several touring exhibitions of her work in the mid 1950s, the artist realized that directly carved works were too fragile for constant shipping, and started to work with bronze. Typically, Hepworth carved a form in plaster and assistants cast it in bronze. Bronze also allowed the sculptor to experiment with color, texture, and larger works.
Reclining Figure (Landscape Rosewall), with its horizontal peaks, greenish patina, rough texture, and enigmatic title, continues Hepworth's abstraction of the human form and the hilly landscape of Cornwall. The sculpture's shape is similar to a sculpture of a mother and child that Hepworth made in 1934, and to sculpture and drawing that she made in 1958-59.The latter works also have titles that reference places, most of them in Cornwall, including Trewyn, the location of the artist's studio. Rosewall likely refers to Ryswal, the name of a family located in the Cornish parish of Towednack, not far from Hepworth's studio.
Reclining Figure (Landscape Rosewall), with its horizontal peaks, greenish patina, rough texture, and enigmatic title, continues Hepworth's abstraction of the human form and the hilly landscape of Cornwall. The sculpture's shape is similar to a sculpture of a mother and child that Hepworth made in 1934, and to sculpture and drawing that she made in 1958-59.The latter works also have titles that reference places, most of them in Cornwall, including Trewyn, the location of the artist's studio. Rosewall likely refers to Ryswal, the name of a family located in the Cornish parish of Towednack, not far from Hepworth's studio.
Copyright
© Bowness, Hepworth Estate
Documentation
Modern Art at the McNay: A Brief History and Pictorial Survey of the Collection; William J. Chiego; 2001; p. 127
Tom Slick: International Art Collector; William J. Chiego; 2009; p. 48-49
Tom Slick: International Art Collector; William J. Chiego; 2009; p. 48-49
Subject period
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