Barbara Hepworth

Sculptor of formal and abstract figures in bronze and wood. Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire. Studied at Leeds and Royal College. Met and married the painter Ben Nicholson in 1931 where she became a member of several forward looking artist groups. 1939 moved to St Ives, Cornwall where she became an influential member of the modern abstract movement. She became a Dame in 1965 in acknowledgment of her position as Britain's premier female sculptor. Sadly in 1975 she died in a fire in her St Ives studio.