Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth 1903-1975

The Hands

Oil and pencil on panel, 1948

Barbara Hepworth made her Hospital Drawings after watching surgeons in the operating theatre when her daughter Sarah was being treated. In this picture, the surgeons' hands stand out in their prayer-like and peaceful pose. The paint is scratched through to the white gesso background, a technique known as sgraffito. Hepworth was a pioneer of abstract art in Britain and reinvented stone-carving for the twentieth century. She was co-founder of the Unit One group which aimed to promote Surrealism and abstraction in Britain. As a sculptor Hepworth felt a close connection between her art and the skilled eye and hand of the surgeon. Drawing was an important means of exploring form and the Hospital Drawings helped her to progress her work. The National Health Service was created in 1948 and Hepworth’s strong support for it added to the intensity of these images.

Presented by Friends of Bristol Art Gallery, 1949