Figure (Oread)
(1958)
Medium
bronze
Measurements
68.8 × 41.4 × 8.6 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1962
© Bowness
Gallery location
Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Nature was a central source of inspiration to the British Surrealists, and a guiding principle among in the progressive 7 & 5 Group, to which Barbara Hepworth belonged during the 1920s. Hepworth’s affinity with nature led her to permanently relocate to the Cornish coast a decade later. Believing in a genius loci, or spirit of place, Hepworth derived many of her sculptural forms from the landscape around her. Oread, named after the mountain nymph, is cast in bronze from plaster, a departure from Hepworth’s earlier preference for carved stone. The sculpture’s soft green patina complements the organic, reaching character of the pierced form.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
England
Edition
ed 5/7
Accession Number
428-D5
Department
International Sculpture
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited