The Hepworth Wakefield

Today we caught the 268A bus in Cleckheaton, where we  met up with the BPW  ( Bus Pass Walkers) for a cultural day in Wakefield.  This time MrC came too.

A brisk walk through the town led us to our destination, The Hepworth Wakefield.     https://hepworthwakefield.org/
As it was lunch time our first stop was the cafe. 
The BPW's always get their priorities right!
That left us with about two hours to wander round at our leisure.

The Gallery , which opened in May 2011, is named after Barbara Hepworth., who was born in Wakefield in 1903.
She married Ben Nicholson and they moved to Cornwall in 1939,
which is where she did most of her sculptures.

Unfortunately galleries 7 - 10 were closed as they were preparing for a new exhibition which opens in 10 days time.
However that still left 6 galleries to look round, including one with a collection of Henry Moore sculptures and drawings, and three with a permanent exhibition of Barbara Hepworth's sculptures.
This included a replica of her work bench in her studio in St Ives, Cornwall. 
The centrepiece of the gallery is her prototype for the " Winged Figure" , a commission from John Lewis for their flagship store on Oxford Street in London.  https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2016131290864026986
At nearly six metres in height. this is the only full-size working model of Hepworth's monumental commissions to survive.

Because of his eye problems MrC found it difficult to see the exhibits properly, but he wants to return later when he has had the other cataract removed.
Now this surprised me, as he is not a fan of modern art, but he enjoyed this museum, even if like me not everything was to his taste.
Because of the Cornwall connection we seem to be drawn to Barbara's work. as a  lot of her sculptures are inspired by the Cornish cliffs, rocks and countryside
We have also visited her house and studio, now a museum, in St Ives.

So we are looking forward to our next visit, and thank the BPW's for inviting us today.
We also look forward to our next walk with them when they are over our side again.