The Hepworth Wakefield Garden
The Hepworth Wakefield Garden is open daily and free to enjoy.
Free entryThe Hepworth Wakefield Garden
The Hepworth Wakefield Garden, designed by internationally acclaimed landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith, is free for all to enjoy.
Tom Stuart-Smith’s design draws inspiration from its unusual setting between 19th-century red-brick mills and a 21st-century art gallery, edged by the River Calder. It echos the striking, angular shapes of the David Chipperfield-designed gallery while harnessing a naturalism that reflects Barbara Hepworth’s deep connection to the landscape.
As well as Stuart-Smith’s distinctive planting, there are outdoor sculptures by Sir Michael Craig-Martin, Barbara Hepworth and Kim Lim.
Find out about the story of The Hepworth Wakefield Garden here.
Sculpture in the garden
Ascending Form (Gloria), 1958
Barbara Hepworth
Wakefield Permanent Art Collection (The Hepworth Wakefield), Donated by Eric and Jean Cass through the Contemporary Art Society 2010
The two diamond shapes in Ascending Form (Gloria) can be seen as representing natural forms, with the one growing organically out of the other, or as a reference to hands coming together in prayer.
One of her most frequently recurring subjects was the standing form, which she related to the feeling of a human figure in the landscape.
Pitchfork (Yellow), 2013
Sir Michael Craig-Martin
Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian
This 4m yellow pitchfork stands tall amongst the trees in the garden. It is taken from a series of giant and brightly coloured painted steel sculptures that resemble commonplace objects.
Appearing like drawings in the air, Craig-Martin’s deceptively simple sculptures pose questions about the role that objects play in our everyday lives.
Hear Michael Craig-Martin describe his sculpture in this short film.
Day, 1966
Kim Lim (1936–1997)
Acquired with the support of the Contemporary Art Society, 1983
This work, Day, which is made from painted steel, was conceived as an outdoor sculpture. The tall arch not only acts as a sun dial casting shadows to gauge the time of day and year, but its elongated form and curved crest echo the elliptical orbit of the earth around the sun.
The acquisition of Day into Wakefield collection in 1983 was prompted by Lim’s close alignment with the sculptural ethos of Barbara Hepworth, as both artists shared a mutual concern for the relationship between abstraction and the landscape.
Fan Construction, 2023
Halima Cassell
Cassell’s distinctive style integrates bold forms with an infinite variety of deeply carved, complex patterns. Combining strong geometric elements with architectural principles, Cassell’s work incorporates recurrent patterns inspired by the geometry and symmetry found in nature, her surroundings and from her own heritage. Born in Pakistan and raised in Lancashire, Cassells varied, multi-cultural background and interest in Islamic art, design and architecture is tangibly present in her work.
Cassell is known for her work in ceramics, and several of her ceramic sculptures are held in Wakefield’s art collection, including Fan 2005, a relief carved in unglazed clay which relates to the patterns reprised in Fan Construction. For this work, Halima has combined pigments to create a warm red hue, which responds to the red brick of Rutland Mills while providing a counterpoint to the concrete of The Hepworth Wakefield.
Dimensions: Cold Cast Iron, 21 foot (h) x 51cm (d)
Our changing display of sculptures in The Hepworth Wakefield Garden has been generously supported by:
In bloom - April
Malus ‘Evereste’
Malus ‘Evereste’ is a beautiful variety of crabapple which provides year-round interest in the garden. In spring the leaves open first followed by pink buds which uncurl to reveal white blossom flowers, completely covering these small trees. Throughout the winter the scarlet red crabapples remain on the tree like little baubles shining in the winter weather and providing a vital food resource for our birds when the ground is frozen. With year-round appeal and a relatively upright habit Malus ‘Evereste’ is a great tree for home gardens.
Amelanchier canadensis
A delicate shrub-like tree, Amelanchier canadensis is perfect for a small garden. Offering year-round appeal, the leaves open hairy and soft, with pale white blossom. Summer berries follow, providing food for the birds and scarlet leaves brighten autumn. The plant originates in the swamps and open woodlands of eastern North America and suckers gently forming elegant multi-stemmed specimens.
Anemone blanda (blue form)
Anemone blanda (blue form) have been flowering in the garden for the last few weeks, opening and closing in accordance with the spring sunshine. These little daisy-like flowers seed about happily and work beautifully under the canopy of trees and shrubs and can cope with any soil pH, partial shade or a little sun.
Tulips
We have planted thousands of tulips in between our herbaceous perennials, in shades of purple, pink, crimson and magenta. There are 28 different varieties of tulip in the garden and whilst we do leave the bulbs in the ground from year to year, we also top up the display each winter with extra bulbs, as sometimes tulips get weaker over time, or come back smaller. To encourage the tulips to flower well again next year, we dead head them. We do this after they stop closing at night, by cutting the flower cup off and leaving the stem and leaves to continue to photosynthesise and send energy down into the bulb for next year.
Diary of a Cultural Gardener
Between May 2019 and May 2021, Katy documented her work in a monthly diary to offer a little glimpse into life in The Hepworth Wakefield Garden.
View all of Katy’s diary entries here.
Help Katy care for The Hepworth Wakefield Garden
We have transformed a strip of unused land into a beautiful flower-filled garden, free for all to enjoy. As a living composition, the Garden requires daily care and attention to ensure it remains an urban oasis for everyone.
If you are able, please support this work. Any donation, no matter the size, makes a real difference. Please donate here.
