Sold last year, the iconic sculpture by Barbara Hepworth will stay in the UK after £3.8 million was raised to match the price.
Created early in her career, Barbara Hepworth’s Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red (1943) remained in a private collection for most of its lifetime. However, it appeared at Christie’s auction block in March 2024 when it was sold for £3.5 million to a foreign buyer. Things took a turn when the UK government placed a temporary ban on the export of the work, citing it as a culturally important piece of art. The temporary ban was supposed to end on August 27th this month, until which locals had the opportunity to match the price (with fees) and keep it within the country.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Hepworth Wakefield Museum, managed to achieve its goal with a week to spare. The museum, located in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and dedicated to Barbara Hepworth, had earlier made a public appeal to help meet its goal. Now, the goal has been met – thanks to more than 2,800 contributions across the world. A major chunk, £1.89 million, came from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, while the Art Fund gave another £750,000. The fundraising was supported by a number of influential names in the art world, including Sir Anish Kapoor, Jonathan Anderson, Rana Begum, and Sir Antony Gomley.
In a note of gratitude, Laura Smith, interim director of the Hepworth Wakefield Museum, said: “We are incredibly grateful to all who have come together to save this exceptional sculpture for the nation, and we are thrilled to be able to now acquire this work, enabling us to tell the full, rich story of Barbara Hepworth’s career and inspire our audiences well into the future.”
