Lot Essay
‘From the very first moment I was entirely enthralled by the classic beauty of what I saw there; classic in the sense that architecture and function were perfectly blended and purity of idea and grace of execution were in complete harmony’ (B. Hepworth, quoted in N. Hepburn, Barbara Hepworth: The Hospital Drawings, London, 2012, p. 81).
The present work, Radial, is from a series of paintings that the artist called “Hospital Drawings” depicting surgeons working in an operating theatre. Hepworth had become fascinated by watching surgeons at work after her daughter, Sarah, underwent treatment for a bone condition that necessitated wearing a full body cast. The orthopaedic surgeon heading her treatment at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital in Exeter, Norman Capener, was befriended by Hepworth and Ben Nicholson and invited to visit the artists’ studios, even allowing him to carve stone while convalescing from an illness. In return he invited Hepworth to witness an operation in progress and in November 1947, she witnessed her first: a reconstruction of the hip. The purity and beauty of the purpose and the execution of the work attracted her to the subject and for the next three years Hepworth continued producing small sketches in operating theatres in London and the West Country, later transferring them into larger works.
For Hepworth, the operating theatre was an example of architecture designed for a given purpose, where a group of people could work synchronically together, with grace and beauty, dedicated to the dignified purpose of saving a life. This is reflected in the composition of the figures, which represent great balance and harmony within their environment and between each other. Hepworth saw a close affinity in the profession of the surgeon and the sculptor; she felt that just how a sculptor seeks to create concrete ideas of beauty, a surgeon aims to restore the beauty of human mind and body. Interestingly, Hepworth compared the movement in the operating theatre, and the aesthetic pleasure received from observing the surgeons, to the ballet, orchestra and the Olympic Games.
Radial is focused on surgeons and their delicacy of touch, which was highly apparent to Hepworth. Here, the circular composition reflects on the previous ideas of the artist’s work, such as rhythm, poise and equilibrium. The eye is immediately attracted to their gestures and then moves around the composition to the shoulders of the surgeons, which also form a circle. In this piece, Hepworth exhibited the same fluid concentric circular forms, which are present in her sculptures. Instead of pain and fear, Hepworth depicted the harmony of the action. For example, in Preparation (1949; private collection), the surgeons are represented in a similar circular composition. However, in contrast to Preparation, in Radial, the present work, Hepworth depicted the surgeons with their instruments and with no patient present. Hence, the inner meaning of gesture and the dignity of the profession are explored as the central subjects of the work. Hepworth felt that the hand is not only ‘the most revealing and expressive part of the human body - it is also the visible extension of the brain and feeling generally. In watching an operation there is simply no end to the revelations of thought and idea conveyed by the contemplation of these hands at work’ (B. Hepworth, quoted in N. Hepburn, Barbara Hepworth: The Hospital Drawings, London, 2012, p. 95).
The artist's self-identification with the surgeons is suggested here in the highly-modelled hands and the surgical instruments, which are similar to the tools used by the sculptor. The work has a highly dynamic quality due to the energetic pencil marks on the surface, moving in various directions. The cool colour palette, consisting of ochre, grey, blue and white emphasises the serious nature of the subject matter. The surgeons also appear almost ghost-like, creating a mystical atmosphere and suggesting a boundary between their world and that of the viewer. The intense process of the surgery is transformed into a powerful yet serene composition, depicting people working together in harmony towards a common purpose.
Radial was exhibited at the XXV Venice Biennale, organised by the British Council, in the Summer of 1950, as no. 95, out of 11 selected Operating Theatre works (nos. 95-105).
E.C. Gregory (1988-1959), the first owner of the work, was a friend of Hepworth's and the managing director of the printing and publishing company Lund Humphries.
We are very grateful to Dr Sophie Bowness for her assistance with the cataloguing apparatus for this work. Dr Sophie Bowness is preparing the revised catalogue raisonné of Hepworth's paintings and drawings.
The present work, Radial, is from a series of paintings that the artist called “Hospital Drawings” depicting surgeons working in an operating theatre. Hepworth had become fascinated by watching surgeons at work after her daughter, Sarah, underwent treatment for a bone condition that necessitated wearing a full body cast. The orthopaedic surgeon heading her treatment at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital in Exeter, Norman Capener, was befriended by Hepworth and Ben Nicholson and invited to visit the artists’ studios, even allowing him to carve stone while convalescing from an illness. In return he invited Hepworth to witness an operation in progress and in November 1947, she witnessed her first: a reconstruction of the hip. The purity and beauty of the purpose and the execution of the work attracted her to the subject and for the next three years Hepworth continued producing small sketches in operating theatres in London and the West Country, later transferring them into larger works.
For Hepworth, the operating theatre was an example of architecture designed for a given purpose, where a group of people could work synchronically together, with grace and beauty, dedicated to the dignified purpose of saving a life. This is reflected in the composition of the figures, which represent great balance and harmony within their environment and between each other. Hepworth saw a close affinity in the profession of the surgeon and the sculptor; she felt that just how a sculptor seeks to create concrete ideas of beauty, a surgeon aims to restore the beauty of human mind and body. Interestingly, Hepworth compared the movement in the operating theatre, and the aesthetic pleasure received from observing the surgeons, to the ballet, orchestra and the Olympic Games.
Radial is focused on surgeons and their delicacy of touch, which was highly apparent to Hepworth. Here, the circular composition reflects on the previous ideas of the artist’s work, such as rhythm, poise and equilibrium. The eye is immediately attracted to their gestures and then moves around the composition to the shoulders of the surgeons, which also form a circle. In this piece, Hepworth exhibited the same fluid concentric circular forms, which are present in her sculptures. Instead of pain and fear, Hepworth depicted the harmony of the action. For example, in Preparation (1949; private collection), the surgeons are represented in a similar circular composition. However, in contrast to Preparation, in Radial, the present work, Hepworth depicted the surgeons with their instruments and with no patient present. Hence, the inner meaning of gesture and the dignity of the profession are explored as the central subjects of the work. Hepworth felt that the hand is not only ‘the most revealing and expressive part of the human body - it is also the visible extension of the brain and feeling generally. In watching an operation there is simply no end to the revelations of thought and idea conveyed by the contemplation of these hands at work’ (B. Hepworth, quoted in N. Hepburn, Barbara Hepworth: The Hospital Drawings, London, 2012, p. 95).
The artist's self-identification with the surgeons is suggested here in the highly-modelled hands and the surgical instruments, which are similar to the tools used by the sculptor. The work has a highly dynamic quality due to the energetic pencil marks on the surface, moving in various directions. The cool colour palette, consisting of ochre, grey, blue and white emphasises the serious nature of the subject matter. The surgeons also appear almost ghost-like, creating a mystical atmosphere and suggesting a boundary between their world and that of the viewer. The intense process of the surgery is transformed into a powerful yet serene composition, depicting people working together in harmony towards a common purpose.
Radial was exhibited at the XXV Venice Biennale, organised by the British Council, in the Summer of 1950, as no. 95, out of 11 selected Operating Theatre works (nos. 95-105).
E.C. Gregory (1988-1959), the first owner of the work, was a friend of Hepworth's and the managing director of the printing and publishing company Lund Humphries.
We are very grateful to Dr Sophie Bowness for her assistance with the cataloguing apparatus for this work. Dr Sophie Bowness is preparing the revised catalogue raisonné of Hepworth's paintings and drawings.