Save Hepworth's sculpture for everyone
Please join us to save this rare and outstanding artwork for the nation
We have one chance to save a key work by Barbara Hepworth for the public. Make a contribution today to help us raise the funds needed by 27 August. Donations of all sizes will make a big difference.
What you can do
Barbara Hepworth’s Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red (1943) belongs to a pivotal series of work she made during the Second World War.
It is now at risk of being exported overseas – unless Wakefield’s award-winning art gallery and Art Fund can raise the £3.8 million needed to buy it, so that it can go on public display in the UK.
We have until 27 August to raise the remaining £2.9 million together. We can’t do this alone, but we can do it with you.
Please donate today to help us save this outstanding work by a titan of modern British art, so that we can all enjoy it forever.
Save the only work of its kind
With multi-coloured strings pulled taut against a pale blue interior, Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red is one of the earliest and best examples of Barbara Hepworth’s stringed sculptures.
It is one of only a handful of wooden carvings she made during the 1940s – a critical period when, having left London for St Ives before the outbreak of war, working with limited materials, at night, and raising a young family, she found new ways to express the landscape around her.
And it is unique: a larger, painted wood version of the only piece of work she took with her in the move to Cornwall, which was later broken and lost.
Art Fund has committed an exceptional grant of £750,000 and several individuals and trusts have already pledged to help The Hepworth Wakefield secure it for their collection. But to reach the full amount needed, we need you.
Will you help us save Barbara Hepworth’s sculpture for everyone?
Together, we can:
Save this rare and significant work by an outstanding British artist
Enable it to go on display in Wakefield, where Hepworth was born
Support The Hepworth Wakefield as one of the most important centres for the enjoyment of Barbara Hepworth in the world
It’s a testament to the undaunted spirit of a great artist... It should be held in a public collection in the UK for the benefit of all
Tell Hepworth’s story in her hometown
Barbara Hepworth was born and brought up in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Named after her, The Hepworth Wakefield celebrates Yorkshire as the birthplace of modern British sculpture.
The gallery is home to Wakefield’s art collection, at the heart of which are major works by Barbara Hepworth as well as the Hepworth Family Gift, a group of prototypes she made for her sculptures. You can see the marks of her tools on them and see how she worked, up close.
But the gallery doesn’t own any finished sculptures by Hepworth from the 1940s. This sculpture is the missing piece: it shows a turning point in her development as an artist, achieved in challenging circumstances.
With it, The Hepworth Wakefield will be able to tell the full story of her working life – cementing their reputation as one of the most important centres for the study and enjoyment of Barbara Hepworth in the world.
Make a difference for Wakefield and audiences everywhere
If we are successful, this fundraising campaign will enable Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red to go on permanent display in the UK.
In Wakefield, it’ll be at the centre of a special exhibition to mark The Hepworth Wakefield’s 15th birthday in 2026. It will also be shown alongside its ‘stringing map’, which the gallery already owns, giving visitors deep insight into Hepworth’s creative process.
As a star piece in The Hepworth Wakefield’s collection, it will be lent to other museums and galleries across the UK, opening up access for people everywhere.
None of this will be possible if the work is lost to the nation and exported overseas.
Please join us and support this campaign
This is a rare and significant work of art by an outstanding British artist that should be on public display in the UK. All museums should be able to make ambitious acquisitions like this – but it’s increasingly difficult for them to find the funds.
If you’re passionate about supporting access to art in the UK, please donate today to help save this remarkable sculpture for everyone, forever.
If you would like to discuss making a contribution of £10,000 or more, please contact Scarlett Millar in Art Fund’s Development team on development@artfund.org or call 020 7225 4843.