★★★★★ “A dazzling fresh take on a genius” –The Times
★★★★★ “Compelling” –London Standard
★★★★ “Ravishing sculptures” –The Guardian
The Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen Exhibition: Hepworth in Colour, the first exhibition ever to be devoted to Barbara Hepworth’s work with colour, is now open at the Courtauld Gallery (12 June – 6 September 2026).
The CourtauldGallerypresentsthe first exhibition devoted to Barbara Hepworth’s lifelong fascination with colour,shedding light on an unexpected and unexplored aspect of the work of one of the most celebratedBritishartists of the 20thԳٳܰ.
Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975)is best knownfor her abstractsculpturesinspired by nature and the rugged seaside landscapes of Cornwall,where she lived and workedfrom 1939.Hepworth’spractice isoften characterisedin terms ofhercommitment todirect carvingand‘truth tomaterials’.Little attention has been given to the importance of colour in her work.Discussing herinnovativeuse of colourin 1970,shesaid:“my colour has beenaccepted,butnever understood.”
Bringing together18sculptures and26drawingsand paintings,The Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen Exhibition:Hepworth inColour is the first exhibition to focus on this important but often overlooked aspect of Hepworth’s work.
Hepworth’s early interest in painted colour dates to the mid-1930s when she and her future husband, Ben Nicholson, formed part of the European avant-garde. In 1939, just before outbreak of the Second World War, she left London for Cornwall with her three young children, taking with her a single sculpture – her very first study for a sculpture with colour. Over the following years, the landscape of Cornwall inspired Hepworth to develop this initial experiment, moving her work in new directions and establishing a lifelong fascination with colour.
At the heart of the exhibition is the remarkable group of painted sculptures made between 1940 and 1948. Hepworth later recalled how, “I used colour and strings in many of the carvings of this time. The colour in the concavities plunged me into the depths of water, caves or shallows…”. These early works include the boldly painted stone carvings Eidos(1947-8)from the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne,AustraliaandSculpture with Colour(Eos)(1946)from a private collection in Hong Kong. Theyareexhibitedtogetherin the UKfor the first timesince1954.
A major highlight of the exhibition is the painted wood carving,Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form), Pale Blue and Red,of1943, which was acquired by The Hepworth Wakefield in 2025 following the successful national fundraising campaign in collaboration with Art Fund to raise £3.8 million.Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form), Pale Blue and Red marked a breakthrough moment in Hepworth’s career, combining strings and colour and, for the first time, the beautiful pale blue, which she associated with the Cornish skies and coast. In private hands since it was created, and rarely exhibited, this is the first time the sculpture is displayed in London since it was acquired for the nation. For Hepworth, the strings in her early sculptures “were the tension I felt between myself and the sea, the wind or the hill”.
Other iconic painted stringed sculptures in the exhibition includeWave, 1943-44, from the National Galleries of Scotland andPelagos(‘sea’ in Greek), 1946 from Tate, the latter directly inspired by the sculptor’s view from her studio onto the bay in St Ives in Cornwall.Theexhibition also unites for the first time from private and public collections the six versions ofSculpture with Colour (Deep Blue and Red),made between 1940 and 1943, featuring contrasting red strings hovering over a striking blue interior.
Alongside sculptures, the exhibition features a rich selection of Hepworth’s drawings with colour. During the first years of the war Hepworth lacked the materials, studio space and time to produce much sculpture but her drawings allowed her to continue to explore and develop her ideas. She recalled, “In the late evenings, and during the night I did innumerable drawings… exploring the particular tensions and relationships of form and colour which were to occupy me in sculpture during the later years of the war.” These drawings, usually entitled “drawing for sculpture” are remarkable for their intricate crystalline forms, punctuated with strong blues, reds and greens.
The exhibition extends into the 1950s and 1960s to reflect how colour continued to occupy Hepworth in newand innovativeways,includingin her expressive paintings, and in herworkwith patinatedbronzeandcolouredmarble.
The Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen Exhibition: Hepworth inColouris curated by Dr Alexandra Gerstein, Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Courtauld Gallery and Dr Stephen Feeke, independent writer and curator whose PhD from the 鶹TVվ of Art focused on Barbara Hepworth’s bronze sculptures.
To coincide with the exhibition, a display ofrarephotographs, taken in the 1930s by Paul Laib (1932–1936),capturingHepworth and Ben Nicholson(1894–1982)in theirshared studio in Hampstead, London, is now open in the Project Space.Theseare among the most evocative studio imagestoemergein Britain during the 20th centuryand show the fascinating interrelation of their practicesat this time.
Courtauld Membersget free unlimited entry to all exhibitions, access to presale tickets, priority booking to selected events, advance notice of art history short courses, exclusive events, discounts and more. Join at courtauld.ac.uk/members
Late openings – Experience the exhibition after hours. The Gallery will open until 20:00 on Friday 12 June, 26 June, 31 July, and 4 September 2026.
Relaxed openings – Join us for relaxed openings onWednesday 1 July and Wednesday 19 August, between 10:00 and 10:30.Our relaxed exhibition openings includeadditionalsupport and facilities from our friendly team.
The Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen Exhibition: Hepworth in Colour
12 June – 6 September 2026
Denise CoatesExhibitionGalleries, Floor 3
Hepworth and Nicholson: The Hampstead Studio Photographs
6 June – 4 October 2026
Project Space, Floor 2
Highlights
