The studio and sculpture garden owned by noted 20th century sculptor Barbara Hepworth are maintained by the Tate St. Ives museum as part of its commitment to preserve and offer access to the best of modern British art. Hepworth created the garden before her death, and asked that the sculpture be displayed exactly as she had placed it.
Hepworth lived in St. Ives from 1939 until her tragic death in a studio fire in 1975. She was drawn to southern Cornwall, as many artists are, by the wonderful light for which the area is famous. Most of her sculpture can be characterised as abstract; she preferred to create impressions of objects rather than portray the objects themselves. She worked in a variety of mediums, and sculptures in wood, stone, and bronze are on display, as well as paintings, drawings, and archival material.
