The Hepworth Wakefield: Yorkshire's major new art gallery

The Hepworth Wakefield:
Yorkshire’s major new art gallery

Winged Figure (work in progress, 1962)
Barbara Hepworth
One of Hepworth’s most high profile public commissions, Winged Figure adorns the John
Lewis Partnership Building on London’s Oxford Street. The full-size six-metre prototype
from which Winged Figure was cast will be shown for the first time at The Hepworth
Wakefield.

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Content
Yorkshire’s major new art gallery
Simon Wallis, Director
A place of inspiration for all
Antony Gormley
A contribution to the regeneration of Wakefield
David Chipperfield
Inspiring things to come
Continuing Hepworth’s legacy
The Hepworth effect
Collections of national significance
Design by David Chipperfield
Find out more

I Yorkshire’s major new art gallery
The Hepworth Wakefield is a unique combination of the best contemporary
architecture and art in dialogue with the history and achievements embodied in
our collection and the work of Barbara Hepworth. It will be a place for enjoyment,
inspiration, socialising, learning, debating and business and will take its place
alongside Yorkshire Sculpture Park, The Henry Moore Institute and Leeds Art Gallery
to make Yorkshire a key destination for those who love the best in art, architecture
and design, as well as those having their very first experience of an art gallery.
I have long found Barbara Hepworth’s work and life fascinating and inspiring. I am
intrigued by the tension and resolution between figuration and abstraction in her
sculptures, as well as her remarkable craftsmanship and feeling for materials, form
and place. These are all interests that I carry through into my work with contemporary
artists and will be reflected in the programme at The Hepworth Wakefield, which
along with all our visitors, will give life to this very special building.
My work at Kettle’s Yard, Tate Liverpool, ICA London and Chisenhale Gallery
has focused on making modern and contemporary art accessible to the whole
community and finding and working with the potential major artists of the next
generation. I’m delighted to bring my experience and ambition to this flagship
project for the enjoyment and benefit of local people, artists and the many visitors
we’ll receive in Wakefield from all over the world.
I look forward eagerly to the opening of The Hepworth Wakefield and welcoming
you warmly, along with our team, to what will undoubtedly be one of Britain’s finest
art galleries, able to show its collection in full for the first time as well as bringing
world-class exhibitions to the region.
Simon Wallis
Director – The Hepworth Wakefield

Mother and Child (1934)
Barbara Hepworth
The Hepworth Wakefield will celebrate the work of Barbara Hepworth, who was born and
raised in Wakefield. The Hepworth Wakefield collection includes Mother and Child, which
demonstrates the tension between figuration and abstraction in Hepworth’s work. It
signifies Hepworth’s move away from carving obvious bodily details in favour of producing
a simplified, almost abstract form.

II A place of inspiration for all
This building is the result of a unique combination of two English spatial intellects.
Barbara Hepworth’s work is characterised by an extreme refinement of form,
sensibility of material and tenacity of purpose. The building that David Chipperfield
has designed to house her work combines tough formal precision with a playful
organicism that exactly complements her indomitable spirit as a pioneering
woman sculptor. Yorkshire was a fertile ground for a sensibility of form that comes
out of an historic collective engagement with the earth. This gallery in Wakefield is
blessed with an extraordinary site at the confluence of two canals, it will become
a place of pilgrimage for all lovers of sculpture and now with the Henry Moore
Institute in Leeds, and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park will in the future be a place of
inspiration for all.
Antony Gormley

One and Other, Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2000)
Antony Gormley
Photograph by Jonty Wilde

III A contribution to the regeneration of Wakefield
Throughout the various stages of the design process we have enjoyed a strong
collaboration with Wakefield Council, the community of Wakefield, the trustees of
the Hepworth estate and The Hepworth Wakefield Trust.
We believe that a public project of this importance will make a valuable contribution
to the regeneration of the waterfront and the city of Wakefield as a whole. We are
excited that The Hepworth Wakefield is now being realised and that visitors will
soon be able to experience the collections and the legacy of Barbara Hepworth.
David Chipperfield CBE, RA

Aerial photograph of The Hepworth, Wakefield (2009)

IV Inspiring things to come
‘The Hepworth Wakefield was chosen [for the Tate Connects Programme] for
the aspirations and quality of its programmes, the links and synergies with the
artist Barbara Hepworth, and for the superb new building by the architect David
Chipperfield. Through Tate Connects the people of Wakefield will have direct access
to the national collection of British, modern and contemporary art from the 15th
Century through to the present day.’
— Noelle Goldman Jacobs, Head of Tate Connects
The Hepworth Wakefield is Yorkshire’s major new art gallery opening on
Wakefield’s historic waterfront in 2011. Designed by acclaimed British architect
David Chipperfield – winner of the 2007 RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture – The
Hepworth Wakefield will unveil a previously unseen collection of sculptures by
Barbara Hepworth, one of the most important artists of the 20th Century who was
born and raised in Wakefield. As well as showcasing and exploring Hepworth’s
work, The Hepworth Wakefield’s ambitious, modern architecture will provide a
fitting home for its outstanding collection of art spanning the 16th Century to the
present day.
The gallery has 600 square metres of space for temporary exhibitions, making it one
of the largest contemporary exhibition venues outside of London. The high quality
spaces feature a mix of artificial and natural light, using a mix of top-lighting from
ceiling-height ‘slot boxes’ and strategically placed windows which provide views of
the River Calder. The galleries will also be adaptable to allow for full black-out and
are equipped to enable multi-media installations. The Hepworth Wakefield will be
able to host ambitious temporary exhibitions that will bring the best international
contemporary art and historical shows to Yorkshire.
The Hepworth Wakefield’s state of the art learning centre will offer a vibrant education
programme and a memorable experience for all our visitors. Workshops led by
professional artists will inspire children and young people and enable communities
to develop their creative potential. In addition, visitors will be able to attend regular
concerts, film screenings, lectures and workshops exploring contemporary and
historical art, architecture and design or simply relax with family and friends in our
high-quality restaurant and café offering seasonal, locally-sourced food.

Artist’s impression of The Hepworth Wakefield, view from Barnsley Road
Image by David Chipperfield Architects

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Ground Floor Plan
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On the ground floor the gallery will offer a performance and conference space, educational
workshops, a café/restaurant, public facilities as well as administration and back of house areas.
Main Entrance (158 m²)
Learning Centre (225 m²)
Shop (68 m²)
Café/Restaurant (151 m²)
Auditorium for performances, conferences and events (103 m²)
Administration/Back of House (989 m²)
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First Floor Plan
The exhibition spaces are located on the upper floor with smaller rooms for earlier works and
larger rooms for contemporary works. Windows in The Hepworth Wakefield’s gallery spaces
will allow visitors views of Wakefield’s skyline and the medieval Chantry Chapel. One of only
four surviving chapels of its kind in the UK, Wakefield’s Chantry Chapel was, like The
Hepworth Wakefield, the architectural ‘jewel’ of its day.
7. Orientation gallery (187 m²)
8. Pre-1900 gallery (96 m²)
9. British Art 1925-1950 (217 m²)
10. Hepworth at Work gallery (115 m²)
11. Barbara Hepworth sculpture gallery (202 m²)
12. Wakefield and Yorkshire in Pictures (73 m²)
13. British Art 1950-present (151 m²)
14. Temporary Exhibition gallery (236 m²)
15. Temporary Exhibition gallery (39 m²)
16. Temporary Exhibition gallery (100 m²)
17. Temporary Exhibition gallery (223 m²)
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V Continuing Hepworth’s legacy
‘The trustees of the Hepworth estate see Wakefield as the most appropriate
permanent home for the plasters to be seen amongst the works of her
contemporaries and in the city where she was born and grew up.’
— Sir Alan Bowness CBE, Trustee of the Hepworth estate
The Hepworth Wakefield will celebrate Barbara Hepworth’s association with
Wakefield and the inspiration she drew from the Yorkshire landscape. Its centrepiece
will be a unique gift from the Hepworth estate of over thirty original sculptures by
the Wakefield-born artist – many of which have never been seen in public before. The
sculptures will be shown alongside Hepworth’s workshop tools, rare documentary
film of the artist at work and The Hepworth Wakefield’s excellent representative
collection of her early carvings. Together they will provide a remarkable insight into
the creative process of one of the world’s greatest sculptors.
Hepworth’s most iconic public commissions are represented in The Hepworth
Wakefield collection. These include the monumental Single Form for the United
Nations Secretariat Building in New York that sealed her international reputation.
Key bronzes and later carvings on long-term loan from the Hepworth estate and
Tate will give visitors a complete picture of Hepworth’s career.
Alongside Tate St Ives, The Hepworth Wakefield will be an internationally recognised
centre for Hepworth’s work. A contemporary exhibition and commissioning
programme will continue to build on Hepworth’s ambitions and concerns and offer
opportunities for emerging and established artists to put on high profile exhibitions
in a very special context. It will ensure that Hepworth’s legacy continues to inspire
current and future generations.

Barbara Hepworth working on the plaster for Curved Form (Bryher II) in her Palais de Danse studio,
St Ives, 1961. The Hepworth Wakefield will show 30 of Hepworth’s original plaster sculptures, which
have never been seen in public before.

Barbara Hepworth carving in Trewyn Studio, 1961.
Photograph by Rosemary Mathews.

Top: Plaster of Forms in Movement (Pavan) (1956),
which features in the Hepworth Wakefield collection.
Left: Hepworth in the Palais de Danse studio, St Ives
in 1963 at work on Oval Form (Trezion).
Photograph by Val Wilmer.
Objects from Hepworth’s St Ives studio – including
the artist’s workshop tools and rare documentary
film of her at work – together with the gift of plaster
sculptures from the Hepworth estate will offer The
Hepworth Wakefield’s visitors a remarkable
understanding of a great sculptor at work.

VI The Hepworth effect
Vibrant learning programmes at The Hepworth Wakefield will promote enjoyment
and understanding of the visual arts, using Hepworth’s achievements to inspire new
creative talent, skills and knowledge. Visitors of all ages and social backgrounds will
be able to enjoy hands-on workshops in our dedicated £2 million learning centre,
working alongside professional artists to create their own works of art. Over 12,000
educational visits will be made to The Hepworth Wakefield each year, providing
a host of cross–curricular creative learning opportunities for children and young
people, while our archive and study space will allow students, researchers and
enthusiasts to explore our collection and the work of Barbara Hepworth in depth.
Adults will have the opportunity to learn about art from our world-class displays,
architecture and design, try their hand at new techniques and engage with artists
through a specially-tailored programme of talks, tours, lectures and workshops.
Our fun-filled family and early years programme will give our youngest visitors
their very first experience of gallery learning and perhaps even inspire the next
Hepworth or Moore!
Finally, our extensive outreach programme will reach beyond the confines of
the gallery to engage audiences with additional needs and those who have not
previously visited a gallery, ensuring that the Hepworth effect will be felt across all
sections of the community.

Inspiring new creative talent: a child from our Building Bridges project creating an
artwork inspired by Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures.

Education and lifelong learning will be at the heart of The Hepworth Wakefield’s
programmes. Artist-led workshops in our dedicated learning centre will encourage children
and young people to unleash their creative potential while an engaging programme of talks,
tours and adult art workshops will offer something for everyone to get involved in.
Photographs by Steve Dransfield and Angela Rawson.

Through our successful Building Bridges project, 500 children and young people worked with
professional artists to create and exhibit artworks inspired by Barbara Hepworth’s sculptures
and David Chipperfield Architects’ designs for The Hepworth Wakefield.
Photographs by Steve Dransfield and Angela Rawson

VII Collections of national significance
‘We look forward to developing the natural synergies between The Hepworth
Wakefield and the Arts Council Collection’s strong holdings of mid-20th Century
sculpture. The arrival of The Hepworth as a dynamic new partner in Yorkshire
further strengthens existing networks dedicated to the study and exhibition of
sculpture and completes a triangle between the Henry Moore Institute and Leeds
Art Gallery, the Arts Council Collection and Yorkshire Sculpture Park.’
— Caroline Douglas, Head of Arts Council Collection
Alongside the group of works by Barbara Hepworth, The Hepworth Wakefield will
show its outstanding fine art collection in full for the first time, spanning the 16th
Century to the present day.
The gallery’s collection of Modern British art is one of the finest outside of London
and has earned national and international recognition. As well as key works by
Hepworth, some of the leading artists of the period are represented including Walter
Sickert, Duncan Grant, David Bomberg, Ivon Hitchens, John Piper, Ben Nicholson,
Patrick Heron, Lucie Rie, Anthony Caro, David Hockney and Bridget Riley. Pride of
place is given to key pieces by Henry Moore, who studied with Hepworth at Leeds
College of Art and, like Hepworth, was born in the Wakefield district. The Hepworth
Wakefield will show Moore’s Reclining Figure carved in Elmwood (1936) in a setting
befitting its exceptional significance as one of the most recognisable artworks of the
20th Century.

Reclining Figure (1936)
Henry Moore
Moore’s Reclining Figure is one of the most significant works of art of the 20th Century.
It was first exhibited at Wakefield Art Gallery shortly after its completion in 1936 and has
since featured in exhibitions at major galleries across the world. The Hepworth Wakefield’s
collection of 20th Century British art includes several sculptures by Moore that illustrate
some of the most important developments in his career.

Figure Study, Female Nude (1560)
Agnolo Bronzino
The depth and historical importance of The Hepworth Wakefield’s collection is illustrated by
this rarely-seen old master drawing by Agnolo Bronzino.

Still Life with Lobster (1678)
Nicholas Van Verendael
Van Verendael’s exquisite and opulent Still Life with Lobster (1678) is a striking example of
‘still life’ painting within The Hepworth Wakefield’s historical collection.

Ruins of the Duke of York’s Chapel, Wakefield Bridge
Richard Ramsay Reinagle (1775 – 1862)
The Hepworth Wakefield’s collection of Yorkshire images is the most important in the region.
Wakefield itself attracted many artists from the 18th Century onwards, who came to record
the city’s distinctive skyline and the medieval Chantry Chapel, which survives to this day. The
Chapel has been more frequently painted and drawn than any other local subject.

On the Thames or How Happy I Could be with Either (1876)
James J. Tissot
On the Thames is one of Britain’s most celebrated Victorian paintings. The painting
scandalised audiences when it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1876, but is now
recognised as a pivotal work within the artist’s career that succinctly reflects the tastes and
morals of Victorian society.

Head of a Woman (1926)
Henry Moore
Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore were both born in Wakefield district – just five years
and a few miles apart. The Hepworth Wakefield will show a significant collection of work by
both artists, including sculptures and drawings from some of the most important stages in
their careers. Head of a Woman shows the influence of ancient Mexican stone carving that
Moore became attracted to while studying at the Royal College of Art, where he and
Hepworth were contemporaries.

Kneeling Figure (1932)
Barbara Hepworth
The Hepworth Wakefield’s excellent representative collection of Hepworth’s early
carvings will give visitors a complete picture of her career. Like Henry Moore,
Hepworth was attracted to direct carving and ‘truth to materials’ which recognised
that the grain in wood or the toughness of stone was essential to the expression of the
final form. The power and tension of Kneeling Figure is a good example of what can be
achieved by carving directly into wood. It also reveals the influence of non-European
sculptural traditions on Hepworth’s work.

Piquet (1933)
Ben Nicholson
The artist Ben Nicholson was Barbara Hepworth’s second husband. Hepworth and
Nicholson became influential figures in the British modern movement of the 1930s.
Through regular trips to Paris, they met with Picasso, Braque, Brancusi and other
influential modern artists.

Pit Boys at Pit Head (1942)
Henry Moore
Henry Moore grew up nine miles from Hepworth’s Wakefield home in the coalmining town of
Castleford. Moore’s father was a miner who read and studied widely. He was determined that
all his children would be well-educated and that no son of his should work down the pit.
Moore drew this work in Castleford during the Second World War.

Working Inside a Balloon (1941)
Leslie Cole
Leslie Cole was born in Swindon on 11 August 1910. He trained as an artist at the Royal College of Art in
London and became a teacher at Hull College of Art in 1937. During the Second World War he became a
salaried war artist with an honorary commission as a captain in the Royal Marines. He travelled widely,
recording the aftermath of the war in Malta, Greece, Germany and the Far East.

Adam’s Apple (1949)
Eileen Agar
Eileen Agar was a friend of Henry Moore and Paul Nash, who is also represented in The
Hepworth Wakefield’s collection. She was closely associated with the Surrealist movement
and in her own words, sought to ‘knock holes in the walls of reality and explore what lay on
the other side’.

VIII Design by David Chipperfield
The Hepworth Wakefield has been designed by one of the UK’s leading architects,
David Chipperfield CBE.
David Chipperfield studied at Kingston School of Art and the Architectural
Association in London. After graduating he worked at the practices of Douglas
Stephen, Norman Foster, and Richard Rogers before setting up his own practice,
David Chipperfield Architects, in 1984. The practice currently has approximately
195 staff at its offices in London, Berlin, Milan, and Shanghai. David Chipperfield
Architects has won over 40 international design competitions and numerous
awards for design excellence, including the 2007 RIBA Stirling Prize, the most
prestigious prize in UK architecture.
The Hepworth Wakefield will take its place amongst David Chipperfield Architects’
distinguished portfolio of completed projects, which includes the River and Rowing
Museum in Henley-on-Thames, the America’s Cup Building ‘Veles e Vents’ in
Valencia, and the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach am Neckar, Germany.
Current projects include the restoration and repair of the Neues Museum in Berlin,
the extension of the San Michele Cemetery in Venice, the new City of Justice in
Barcelona, and two major museum expansions in the US – the Saint Louis Art
Museum, and the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center.

Top: River and Rowing Museum, Henley on Thames, UK
Photograph by Richard Bryant / Arcaid
Top right: Museum of Modern Literature, Marbach, Germany
Photograph by Christian Richters
Bottom: Main stair hall of the Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany
Photograph by Joerg von Bruchhausen, used with permission from
Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz/David Chipperfield Architects

Designing The Hepworth Wakefield - David Chipperfield Architects:
As a practice, we are interested in developing building ideas that are unique to
the particular conditions of the project, both physical and organisational. The
starting point for our design for The Hepworth Wakefield was Wakefield’s existing
art gallery – a converted Victorian townhouse that became a ‘temporary’ home for
the city’s art collections in 1934, in which a series of small domestic rooms provide
exhibition space. While these conditions limit the options for showing works of
art, they nevertheless provide a natural, intimate context that suits the small-scale
nature of much of the existing collection.
The idea of a new home for the collection led us to explore the concept of clearly
defined rooms for the art, and for the composition of these rooms to determine
the external form of the building. While maintaining a consistent character, these
rooms would differ in proportion and in the location of their openings; rooflights
would provide natural light and side windows would provide views and orientation
to the outside.
The demands placed on galleries with regard to conservation of the artwork on
display can lead to a ‘black-box’ solution to gallery spaces. Although ideal in
terms of conservation, this often results in a less enjoyable visitor experience. At
The Hepworth Wakefield, collaboration with curators and specialist consultants
allowed us to look at ways of introducing daylight into the gallery spaces without
compromising conservation conditions. Through careful consideration of the
location and size of openings, it has been possible to include windows in the gallery
spaces. These windows will orient visitors and provide views of the River Calder and
the nearby medieval Chantry Chapel – one of only four surviving chapels of its kind
in the UK. In addition, ‘slot lights’ in the gallery roof will allow controlled daylight
into the gallery spaces at high level, animating the spaces without distracting
visitors from the artworks on display below.

Concept sketches by David Chipperfield

Artist’s impression of the Waterfront Wakefield development
The relationship between the spatial internal experience of a building, the building
form, and the context surrounding the building is fundamental to our work. We
believe that architectural decisions cannot be made in isolation, and we rely on a
reading of context to inform our design proposals.
The headland setting at Wakefield – highly prominent with no front or back – was
of particular interest. The surrounding industrial buildings, their scale and form
and position on the river’s edge, offered a solution for the gallery’s massing and
location. Organising the building in a series of smaller blocks of varying heights
and roof pitches will complement the scale of the existing buildings and enable the
gallery to present a number of frontages to the river and the adjacent buildings.
The gallery’s location on the river’s edge will also allow it to apply new forms of
renewable energy by sourcing the majority of its heating and cooling from the flow
of the River Calder.
The gallery façade will be constructed of pigmented, in-situ concrete. The intention
is to create a smooth, continuous finish that allows the natural material qualities
to give character to the overall appearance. Concrete is an inherently strong,
robust material, which has associations with solidity and permanence. Casting the
concrete on site means that it is possible to create walls and roofs that emphasise
the sculptural quality of the building. Adding pigment creates an unfamiliar
appearance, which seeks to make the façade equally interesting whether it is viewed
from close up or from a distance.
In conclusion, it is David Chipperfield Architects’ belief that architecture should be
both familiar and unfamiliar – we must develop new architecture which also carries
formal ideas that respond to memory and experience.

Navigation Warehouse
Photograph by Roger Preston
The Hepworth Wakefield will complement the scale of the existing mills and warehouses on
Wakefield’s historic waterfront. It will appear, as they do, to rise out of the River Calder,
thanks to its positioning right on the river’s edge. The Hepworth Wakefield has been a vital
catalyst to the regeneration of the whole waterfront area, including the restoration of the
listed 18th Century Navigation Warehouse.

The Hepworth Wakefield under construction, view from across the river.
Photograph by David Chipperfield Architects

IX Find out more
To find out more about The Hepworth Wakefield, please contact us anytime. We’d
love to tell you some more about this major new art gallery and how you can get
involved.
Simon Wallis, Director
01924 305790
swallis@wakefield.gov.uk
Rod Taylor, Head of Operations and Business
01924 305900
rodtaylor@wakefield.gov.uk
Frances Guy, Head of Collections and Exhibitions
01924 305902
fguy@wakefield.gov.uk
Hollie Latham, Head of Communications and Marketing
01924 305899
hlatham@wakefield.gov.uk
Racheal Walker, Senior Development Officer
01924 305901
rachealwalker@wakefield.gov.uk

Barbara Hepworth working on Sphere with Inner Form in her Palais de Danse studio, St Ives, 1963
Your support will enable us to create a lasting legacy worthy of Hepworth’s name.

Brochure supported by:
Cobham Mews, Agar Grove
London NW1 9SB
United Kingdom
T +44 20 7267 9422
F +44 20 7267 9347
info@davidchipperfield.co.uk
www.davidchipperfield.com

We are very grateful to our key funding partners for their fantastic support:

The Hepworth Wakefield Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee
and registered with the Charity Commission (Registration No: 1120590)