The Barbara Hepworth sculpture linked to Cornwall’s coast is Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red, a unique work made in 1943. It did not fetch £8 million: Christie’s sold it in March 2024 for a £2.9 million hammer price. The Hepworth Wakefield acquired it for the nation in 2025, so the available official records do not support describing it as headed to another auction.
Which Hepworth sculpture is associated with the Cornish coast?
The identified work is Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport describes it as a unique sculpture made in 1943 from painted wood and string, standing 50.2 cm high. Its maker’s inscription records its title and year. The government announcement connects the work with the Cornish sky, sea and rugged coast, where Hepworth lived and which influenced her practice. The government’s export-bar notice gives the object details and provenance.
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Hepworth lived and worked in Cornwall from 1939. The Courtauld describes this sculpture as a breakthrough in her work with colour and strings: it was the first time she used a pale blue associated with Cornish skies and coast. The link to Cornwall is specific to the work and its context; it should not be taken to mean every Hepworth sculpture was inspired by the coast. The Courtauld’s exhibition page discusses her wider use of colour and sculpture.
What did the sculpture sell for?
At Christie’s London on 20 March 2024, the sculpture’s hammer price was £2,900,000. That is the amount at which the auctioneer’s hammer fell, not the full value used in the subsequent export-licence application. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest reported the following calculation:
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| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Auction hammer price | £2,900,000 |
| Buyer’s premium | £649,000 |
| Artist resale right | £10,680.63 |
| Commission | £92,500 |
| Export-licence application value | £3,652,180.63 |
The export-bar notice stated a recommended price of £3,652,180.63 plus £129,800 VAT. The VAT was stated separately; it is not part of the £3,652,180.63 application value in the committee’s breakdown. These figures describe different things and should not be presented as interchangeable auction prices. The committee’s 2024–25 annual report records the sale calculation and its assessment of the case.
Is an £8 million auction estimate verified?
No official source cited here establishes an £8 million estimate, sale price or planned auction for this sculpture. The documented Christie’s sale was in March 2024, and the later institutional acquisition was announced in connection with its 2025 fundraising campaign. The £8 million claim therefore should not be treated as a verified current valuation or an upcoming auction notice.
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The government imposed an export bar after an application to export the sculpture to the United States, allowing time for a UK institution or gallery to acquire it. The Reviewing Committee heard the case in October 2024 and found that the work met all three Waverley criteria: connection with national life, aesthetic importance, and significance to the study of Hepworth’s practice and the development of her work. That is the committee’s assessment, rather than an auction estimate.
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Who owned it, and where is it now?
According to the government’s provenance record, Helen Sutherland bought the sculpture directly from Hepworth in March 1944. It passed to Nicolete Gray in 1966 and then by descent. Christie’s London offered it in 1998, 2008 and 2024. The government announcement did not name the owner at the time of the 2024 export-bar notice.
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The Courtauld reported that The Hepworth Wakefield acquired the sculpture for the nation in 2025 after a successful fundraising campaign with Art Fund. The campaign raised £3.8 million. The Courtauld’s account of the acquisition and the sculpture’s artistic context is available at its Hepworth in Colour page.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why is the sculpture significant in Hepworth’s work?
The Courtauld characterises the piece as an important development because it brings together strings and colour, including a pale blue associated with the landscape around Hepworth’s Cornish home. It places the sculpture within her group of painted string works, alongside Wave (1943–44) and Pelagos (1946). The Courtauld describes Pelagos as inspired by the view of St Ives Bay from Hepworth’s studio.
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Hepworth’s use of colour in sculpture was pioneering, but she felt it was not fully understood. In a quotation reproduced by the Courtauld from a discussion with her son-in-law, art historian Sir Alan Bowness, she said: “In a way my colour has been accepted, but never understood”. The Courtauld’s Hepworth in Colour exhibition page gives the exhibition dates as 12 June to 6 September 2026; the exhibition has ended.
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