Barbara Hepworth Value: Top Prices Paid at Auction

Ancestor II (1970), cast in 1974, achieved Hepworth's current auction record when it sold at Christie's New York in November 2023, exceeding its high estimate by almost 30%. Standing at an impressive 276.9 cm tall, this monumental bronze exemplifies Hepworth's mature style with its totemic form and distinctive patina. The sculpture belongs to her celebrated Family of Man series, one of her most ambitious projects exploring the different stages of human life. Created following her first solo exhibition at the Tate Gallery in 1968, and cast in bronze just a year before her death, this work demonstrates her masterful handling of scale and form during the later phase of her career.

Elegy III (1966) sold at Christie's New York in November 2022, establishing what was then a new auction record for the artist. This bronze sculpture, cast in an edition of six in 1967 at Morris Singer Founders in London, demonstrates the interior and exterior balance that characterises Hepworth’s hollowed three-dimensional forms. It was created during a period of international acclaim following her Grand Prix win at the 1959 São Paulo Biennial, when Hepworth’s relationship with bronze casting, beginning in the 1950s after working primarily with direct wood carving, was developing. The bronze cast was derived from a wood carving titled Hollow Form With White (1965); the work’s change in title after casting captures Hepworth’s evolving ideas, particularly her interest in themes of life and death, spirituality in art, and the human condition. Another cast, number 4/6, sold the following year, in June 2023 for £3,300,00 at Sotheby’s London.

The highest-value wooden sculpture on this list, Hollow Form With White Interior (1963) achieved this impressive result at Christie's London in June 2022. Unlike most works on this list, this piece was carved from wood and never cast in bronze, making it an entirely unique piece. It was carved into Nigerian Guarea wood, with white paint added to the interior to emphasise the change in texture and finish between interior and exterior. As such, it encourages the viewer to contemplate positive (solid) and negative (void) spaces differently, while appreciating their harmony. Hepworth described this as “the special accord between inside and outside in every form.” In 1969, the work was acquired directly from Hepworth by Gimpel Fils Gallery, which first sold many of her works, and remained in private collection until 2003. It had, however, appeared in a number of exhibitions during this time - including her solo 1968 exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London.

Three Obliques (Walk In) (1968) sold at Christie's London in October 2023. Its title is an invitation, and, as one of Hepworth’s largest works, viewers can physically enter and interact with it from within. It demonstrates Hepworth's increasing interest in creating immersive sculptural environments in her later career, influenced by her experiences with landscape and architecture. This particular cast, numbered 0/2, was donated to the Long Island Jewish Medical Centre by Saul Steinberg in 1971, but other casts were exhibited by Gimpel Fils across London, New York, Hakone, and beyond. This cast remained in place until its exhibition and sale at Chatsworth House in 2007.

Parent II (1970) achieved this result at Christie's London in May 2021. This towering bronze, standing at 238.8 cm tall, continues Hepworth's exploration of vertical, totemic forms that combine a suggested human presence with architectural structures. Its gentle asymmetry gives its almost geometric components a sense of personality and character - the hollowed-out ‘head’ appears to blankly gaze out past the viewer. Created during the same period as her Family of Man series, Parent II (170) reflects Hepworth's ability to capture family relationships and human connection in abstracted forms. It was cast in a series of four in 1971, but remained in the estate of the artist until 1996, appearing on loan at the likes of Kenwood House, London, in 1973-76, and Marlborough Gallery, New York, in 1992.

Setting a record at the time and almost doubling its high estimate, Figure For Landscape (1960) sold at Christie's London in June 2014. This bronze, numbered 6/7, has a more organic form than the sculptures above, with a rough green and brown patina to match. The piece features Hepworth's characteristic perforated form, with its negative spaces becoming as important as its solid elements. Other casts can be found at the Barbara Hepworth Museum, at the Tate St Ives, the University of Exeter, and the San Diego Museum of Art. This particular cast was originally sold to Stavanger Kunstforening, Norway, by Hepworth in 1965 at half its value, as the artist wanted to ensure that her work was placed in Norway. Its sale in 2014, therefore, became a source of controversy.

Sea Form (Atlantic) (1964) sold at Sotheby's London in June 2024 This substantial bronze sculpture was inspired by Hepworth's lifelong inspiration from the Cornish landscape and seascape following her move to St Ives in 1939, where one cast of this work still remains. Its undulating form, interior colour, and pierced elements evoke the rhythms, bubbles, and movements of ocean waves, demonstrating Hepworth's ability to translate natural observations into abstract sculptural language. The piece belongs to Hepworth's celebrated Sea Form series, which represents a significant body of work inspired by her coastal surroundings. The six casts of Sea Form (Atlantic) (1964), have appeared in Birmingham’s Cannon Hill Park, Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden, the 1967 Montreal Expo, and beyond. This cast had been on display at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the only location where all of Hepworth’s Family of Man series can be seen together.

The only stone work to make it into Hepworth’s top 10, Sculpture With Colour (Eos) (1946) achieved this result at Christie's New York in May 2016. As the earliest work on this list, and one of the smallest, this piece represents a pivotal moment in Hepworth's career when she was experimenting with coloured interiors for her hollowed stone sculptures. The contrast between the stone's natural exterior and the painted blue interior creates a striking visual effect that would become a signature element in her practice. The piece is named after Eos, the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn, and its concave elliptical shapes and shades of blue interior paint reflect the passing of time, particularly the sun across the sky. It’s impressive performance in 2016 demonstrates collector appreciation for those works from Hepworth's formative mid-career period, when her innovations with colour and form were just taking shape.

Parent I (1970) sold at Sotheby's London in November 2016. This bronze sculpture is the companion piece to Parent II, higher on this list, and is part of the Family of Man series. Its vertically stacked forms suggest both architecture and humanity, with very deliberately curved edges and grooves that capture a particular balance of light and dark. Hepworth intended for her Family of Man works to appear as if they had “risen out of the ground,” as geological formations - the resulting effect is something almost prehistoric. The 1970s were Hepworth’s final productive decade, making this sculpture one of her last and therefore a treasured example of her work for collectors.

The final instalment on this list is the eighth sculpture in Hepworth’s Family of Man series, The Bride (1970), which sold at Christie's London in June 2019. The third in an edition of four, this piece had remained in a private collection since its purchase in Zurich almost immediately after its casting in 1972. Hepworth’s Family of Man is what she called a “tribal group.” The position of ‘the bride’ in this tribal group is an interesting one - choosing to name the sculpture after its relationship with the others is a key example of Hepworth’s interest in human and family dynamics. Its face has been interpreted as facing both past and future, like the Roman god Janus, viewing life before marriage and life after.