A Greater Freedom follows artistic developments in Barbara Hepworth’s later years, focused on the last decade of the sculptor’s life from 1965 to 1975.
By this point Hepworth had achieved international recognition, representing Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1950, winning the Grand Prix at the São Paulo Biennial of 1959, and having Single Form commissioned for the United Nations in the early 1960s. These successes afforded her opportunities to explore new ideas and processes.
Hepworth was extremely prolific during her later years, with Tate Director Alan Bowness noting that nearly as many works were made during the 1960s as between 1925 and 1960. These later works show experimentation in new materials, working in bronze, slate and printmaking. In 1968 Hepworth noted: ‘While always remaining constant to my conviction about truth to material, I have found a greater freedom for myself’.’
