Barbara Hepworth and Greece at Chichester’s Pallant House Gallery

Spokeswoman Carrie Rees said it was the first exhibition to focus on the celebrated artist’s deep affinity with Greece.

“With over 50 works spanning Hepworth’s career, including some not seen in public since the 1960s, it will show the profound impact of Greece on her life and work.

“In 1954, Hepworth made her first and only trip to Greece, sailing through the Corinth Canal to the Aegean Sea and Cyclades, a transformative journey at a pivotal moment in her life. “First exploring Hepworth’s early affinity with ancient Greece, the exhibition will then reveal how the landscapes, architecture, people, colours and light she encountered in 1954 inspired a renewal of her practice, at the height of her international acclaim.

“Long before her trip, Hepworth had developed a deep engagement with Greek subjects. In the 1920s, she sought out fine-grained Greek marbles, including Parian and Pentelic marble, whose qualities spoke to her commitment to ‘truth to materials’. Her engagement with Greek culture was also shaped by her education, steeped in ancient Greek language, literature and mythology. Early works on display will include Mask (1928), which reflects her interest in tragedy, whilst Pelagos (1946) borrows its title from the Greek word for ‘sea’. A few years prior to her trip, Hepworth worked on the stage and costume design for Sophocles' Electra at the Old Vic, which featured Hepworth’s first metal sculpture, Apollo (1951), an abstract interpretation of the Greek god.

“Hepworth travelled relatively little, devoted as she was to her studio in St Ives and to her work. Aged 51 she was invited by her friend and patron Margaret Gardiner on Swan Hellenic’s cruise ship Miaoulis. Hepworth visited Athens, the ancient sites of Epidaurus, Mycenae and Delphi, and the islands of Crete, Rhodes, Cos, Patmos, Santorini, Mykonos and Delos.

“The exhibition will trace Hepworth’s footsteps through Greece, as recorded in her diary from the trip, where she also made sketches and collected leaves and flowers. Exploring how her work was transformed by the elemental forces she witnessed in Greece, it will feature major works including Corinthos (1955), inspired by the feeling of being enveloped in the landscape, alongside Curved Form (Delphi) (1956), her Greek masterpiece. Both were carved from Nigerian Guarea wood, a new material for Hepworth, who was inspired by its particular scent, patina and feel. Hepworth’s Aegean lithographic suite will be shown alongside these wood sculptures, marble carvings, bronze editions, and works on the cusp between drawing and painting.

“Hepworth encountered islands that remained largely untouched by tourism. She was fascinated by neolithic and archaic figures, classical and vernacular architecture, and the dramatic contrasts of the landscape: Santorini’s volcanic terrain, the indigo and cerulean of the Aegean Sea, the reddish hues of the land, the purple tinge of the mountains at sunset. Though made seven years after her trip and revisiting an earlier subject, the painting Pelagos (1961) shows how these colours were indelibly etched in her memory. Likewise, in lithographs and screenprints she was making in the last years of her life, Hepworth responded deeply to these sites.

“Hepworth’s journey to Greece marked a crucial moment in her life. Following the breakdown of her marriage to Ben Nicholson in 1951, she had suffered the tragic loss of her first son Paul Skeaping in a flying accident while on active duty in the RAF in 1953. “Hepworth then threw herself into preparations for her seminal exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in the spring of 1954, bringing her career to new heights and international acclaim. “Barbara Hepworth and Greece will show the profound and lasting impact Greece and its sacred landscapes had on Hepworth, renewing her creative energy and sense of direction after a challenging period in her life. With her diary referencing moments of solitude, contemplation, and transcendence, the journey also deepened her lifelong investigation of the relationship between the human figure and the landscape. Later reflecting on the sight of a lone priest against the sea and sky, Hepworth wrote that the figure ‘seemed to me to give scale to the whole universe … and this is exactly what a sculpture should suggest in its relationship to its surroundings.’

“Barbara Hepworth and Greece will also feature photographs by American photographer Robert McCabe that capture the same sites she visited in the mid-1950s, showing the Acropolis empty of visitors, the islands’ rugged landscapes, and villages untouched by tourism. These photographs will offer an insight into the places Hepworth encountered and the visual experiences that informed her work. Archival photographs from her studio will show Hepworth with Corinthos, Oval Sculpture (Delos) and other works she carved from 17 tonnes of Nigerian Guarea wood following her return to St Ives.”