Ancestor 1 – Barbara Hepworth

This large bronze sculpture by Barbara Hepworth is on loan to the University of Birmingham and positioned in the northwest corner of the University Square in front of the where the old Main Library formerly stood.

The sculpture is part of Hepworth’s sculptures in the ‘Family of Man’ group. The sculptor was inspired by the tall upright stones dating from prehistoric times in the St. Ives in Cornwall. The Cornish coast is evoked by using blue-green paint in the sculpture’s cavities.

Barbara Hepworth studied at the Leeds School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. Her mentor was the sculptor Sir Henry Moore. Most of here works were in an abstract style and largely in stone or bronze although other materials were also used.