Early life Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in
Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, the eldest child of Gertrude and Herbert Hepworth. and won a scholarship to study at the
Leeds School of Art from 1920. It was there that she met her fellow Yorkshireman,
Henry Moore. Hepworth successfully won a county scholarship to attend the
Royal College of Art (RCA) in London and studied there from 1921 until she was awarded the diploma of the Royal College of Art in 1924. Following her studies at the RCA, Hepworth travelled to
Florence, Italy, in 1924 on a
West Riding Travel Scholarship. Hepworth filed for divorce from Skeaping that year; they were divorced in March 1933. They would lead in the path to modernism in sculpture. In 1933, Hepworth travelled with Nicholson to France, where they visited the studios of
Jean Arp,
Pablo Picasso, and
Constantin Brâncuși. She lived in Trewyn Studios in
St Ives from 1949 until her death in 1975. Trewyn Studios had once been an outbuilding of Trewyn House, later purchased by her pupil and assistant
John Milne in 1956. At Capener's invitation, she was invited to view surgical procedures and, between 1947 and 1949, she produced nearly 80 drawings of operating rooms in chalk, ink, and pencil. Hepworth was fascinated by the similarities between surgeons and artists, stating: "There is, it seems to me, a close affinity between the work and approach of both physicians and surgeons, and painters and sculptors." During this period, Hepworth and Nicholson divorced (1951). Her eldest son Paul was killed on 13 February 1953 in a plane crash while serving with the
Royal Air Force in Thailand. '' at
Battersea Park, London. Hepworth's difficulties in establishing a stable gallery relationship in the United States have been attributed to many factors, including the artist's own diffidence regarding personal promotion of her work. When Martha Jackson failed to arrange the solo American exhibition of sculptures and drawings that Hepworth demanded, Hepworth moved, in 1957, to
Galerie Chalette, run by Arthur and Madeleine Lejwa, known for their close relationship with
Jean Arp, and dedication to close relationships with their artists. The Lejwas came through with the solo exhibition Hepworth craved. but made minimal contact with the press and left as soon as possible. "Have seen all the press", she wrote, "pulled faces at the camera and generally done my best!"
Late career Hepworth greatly increased her studio space in 1960 when she purchased the
Palais de Danse, a former cinema and dance hall, that was situated across the street from Trewyn. She used this new space to work on large-scale commissions. The artist also produced a set of lithographs entitled "Opposing Forms" (1970) with
Marlborough Fine Art in London. ==Famous sculptures==