The shadows from the sculptures of Dame Barbara Hepworth cover all that came after in British sculpture. She was one of the first British abstract sculptors. Up to her final years she was a direct carver in wood and stone; it was only late on in her career that she used bronze.

She was married to Ben Nicholson from 1933 to 1951.

She was in Italy between 1924 and 1925.

In her late 20s, she became interested in abstract form; it was around then that she started piercing holes in her sculpture.

She trained in Leeds where she met and became friends with Henry Moore.

The work of the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) was a big influence on her work.

Today, she is perhaps best remembered, or widely remembered, for her association with St Ives, Cornwall. She settled there in 1939 and her studio is now a museum.

It was in St Ives that she worked on a series of abstract works in which the large masses are set off by string or wire.

Her son was killed in 1953 while serving with the Royal Air Force. As a memorial to her son, she made a Madonna for the church in St Ives.

Her studio in St Ives is now the Barbara Hepworth Museum. Places where her work can be seen in open places are Harlow New Town, Essex, Hatfield, Herts., the Royal Festival Hall, Dulwich Park in south London, State House, London, and the United Nations Building in New York.

Collections:

• Aberdeen
• Birmingham
• Bolton
• Bristol
• Cardiff
• Coventry
• Leeds
• London (Tate, V&A)
• Manchester
• Wakefield

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