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THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'.

TATE ST IVES. Barbara Hepworth, internationally acclaimed as one of the major British sculptors of the mid-twentieth century. Escaping the impending hostilities, moved from London to Cornwall in 1939 with artist Ben Nicholson and their triplets. Following the war she continued to build her career from her unique studio and gardens in St Ives. She was fundamental to the artists' colony becoming renowned as a centre for modern art during the 1950s and 60s.

'Single Form (September)', a beautifully carved piece of polished walnut wood, highlights so many important aspects of Hepworth's practice. Single forms reoccur through-out her work and generally refer to the human figure. This is a fine example of the way her language of simple forms celebrates the materials she used, and the work also embodies her friendship with Dag Hammerskjöld, the Secretary-General of the United Nations who died in an air crash in September 1961. The subtitle evokes this moment. Hepworth in 1961-4 completed a 21 foot high version which still dominates the United Nations Plaza in New York today.