Barbara Hepworth (1903 –1975) is best known for her abstract sculptural forms inspired by nature and the rugged seaside landscapes of Cornwall, where she lived and worked.

This ambitious exhibition will be the first to explore a less familiar aspect of her work, the artist’s lifelong fascination with colour, which she used in highly original and unexpected ways. The exhibition will unite for the first time her early innovative sculptures with colour of the 1940s, displayed alongside the most important drawings from that decade, and will include major examples of her work with colour from the 1950s and 1960s.

Discussing her pioneering use of colour in sculpture with her son-in-law, the art historian Alan Bowness, Hepworth stated ‘In a way my colour has been accepted, but never understood’.

This focused, research-driven exhibition will be comprised of around 20 sculptures and 30 exceptional drawings, showing sculpture in dialogue with her painted and graphic works.

National Art Pass holders can enjoy 50% off admission to this exhibition.

The exhibition includes Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red which Art Fund members helped to save for the nation, and is the first opportunity to see the sculpture in London.

National Art Pass holders can also enjoy unlimited free entry to the Courtauld Gallery’s permanent collection, including temporary displays and exhibitions in the Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery and Project Space.