Given by the artist to Margaret Moir, and thence by descent to the present owner

 

London, Tate Gallery, Barbara Hepworth, April – May 1968, no.184 (present cast).

 

There are some very minor marks to the surface of the work which may be the hand of the artist. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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In May 1961 Hepworth was invited to submit designs for a large scale sculpture to be sited on the John Lewis Building on Oxford Street.🔯 Designed in 1956 by Slater and Uren Architects, the site offered a large Portland stone façade to the side of the building which 🎐meant that any prospective piece would be offered a range of viewpoints.

Hepworth's initial suggestion is seen in the Maquette, Three Forms in Echelon (BH306) which envisaged three open forms linked by a network of stringing. However, this design was rejected, much to the artist's disappointment, but an alternative proposal came with the suggestion that an earlier sculpture, Winged Figure (BH228 & 229) of 1957, could be adapted to the site. Slightly modified and enlarged to eighteen feet tall, the new version of Winged Figure (BH315)🔯 was unveiled in ꦕSt Ives in August 1962 and installed in London in April 1963.

Winged Figure belongs to an edition which꧃ was produced in 1967 to a 1962 design, the initial idea coming from a special reque🌳st from Mr J.P. Matthews, the General Manager of John Lewis who was seeking a leaving present for another executive, Stanley Carter.

The present lot, and lot 77, were given by the artist to Margaret Moir. As Hepworth recalled when she took over the old St Ives Palais de Danse as a studio, 'I worked here happily from the moment I took over; and here my friend of two decades, and for long my helper and secretary Margaret Moir, takes charge. Suddenly the noise has abated and thanks to her peace prevails and works come and go.' (Barbara Hepworth, A Pictorial Autobio💜graphy, Tate Gallery, London 1985, p.88).

This lot is to be sold with copies of Barbara Hepworth by Michael Shepherd and Drawings from a Sculptor's Landscape both inscribed to Margare𓆏t Moir from the artist.

We are grateful to Sophie Bowness for her kindꦰ assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.