Barbara Hepworth, Contrapuntal Forms. 1951
Blue limestone (County Galway, Eire), 305x122x915 cm
Glebelands housing area
Grade II listed by English Heritage in 1998
Also for the Festival of Britain she produced a plaster sculpture sited in the entrance to the Riverside Restaurant.
See under Exhibitions: Festival of Britain 1951
Commissioned by the Arts Council for the Festival of Britain South Bank. Acquired by the Development Corporation when the art works were distributed at the end of the Festival. The uptake for these works was disappointing but Harlow Development Corporation took this and three murals in October 51. The sculpture stood high on a plinth between the Dome of Discovery and the Transport Pavilion.
It was hand carved by Hepworth.
She was insistent that this work have a civic setting but agreed to it being temporarily placed in a completed environment. The Trust attempted to move the work from the Glebelands but returned it in 2014 after residents objected. The surrounding area was re landscaped with grass and a low barrier.
The novel concept of having sculpture in an urban landscape was taken up with the formation of Harlow Art Trust and the subsequent acquisition of the Collection.
Contrapunctual Forms, July 2019. Photo Jon Clempner
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