Barbara Hepworth: from Yorkshire to the UN

This lecture celebrates the remarkable life and career of British sculptor Barbara Hepworth, tracing her journey from rural Yorkshire to international acclaim. It begins with her early friendship with fellow sculptor Henry Moore and follows her travels across Europe in the 1930s, when she met Picasso and learned to carve marble in Florence.

The lecture explores Hepworth’s artistic influences and her commitment to abstraction, showing how landscape, family life and place profoundly shaped her sculpture. It examines key works in stone, plaster and bronze, situating them within the contexts of modernism and post-war Britain.

THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

Mr Ian Giles

Ian Giles studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and is a practising artist. His artworks and films have been shown internationally, including at MoMA PS1 (New York), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), and the Whitechapel Gallery (London).

He has been a visiting lecturer at Chelsea College of Arts, Cambridge School of Art, Camberwell College of Arts, Birmingham School of Art and the University of Cambridge, Department of Architecture.

His work has been supported by Arts Council England, Art Fund, The Jerwood Foundation, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Recent press coverage includes features and reviews in The Guardian, Frieze, Artforum, and on BBC radio and television.

In 2026 he will present exhibitions and projects at Queer Britain, Southampton City Art Gallery and Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery

Awards, Qualifications & Memberships:

- Masters in Fine Art from Slade School of Fine Art, UCL
- BA (Hons) Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts, UAL
- Foundation at Camberwell College of Arts, UAL

GALLERY