Dora Gordine and Barbara Hepworth: connections across time and space

The figurative bronze sculpture of Dora Gordine (1895-1991) and Barbara Hepworth‘s (1903-1975) carved or cast forms are usually perceived as occupying different spaces within the rich histories of modern British sculpture. Yet, it is striking that Gordine and Hepworth were born within just eight years of each other. Their work became known at the same time in late 1920‘s Britain, and they subsequently exhibited together in various pre and post-war group exhibitions. This essay critically reflects on the importance of their studio-homes to their practice, on the moments where their trajectories as sculptors intersected, and identifies the artistic and aesthetic concerns they shared as successful women artists in the highly competitive and often polarised spaces of modern sculpture in Britain from the late 1920s to the early 1950s.