Rare Barbara Hepworth Sculpture to stay in UK after successful £3.8 million campaign

The Hepworth Wakefield is celebrating the successful £3.8 million fund-raising appeal to keep an important Barbara Hepworth sculpture in the UK. Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red will now reside in the collection of the award-winning art gallery in the artist’s home town of Wakefield in Yorkshire.

Dating to 1943, the sculpture is one of only a handful of wooden carvings made by Hepworth during the 1940s, and one of the first major wood carvings she made using strings. It had sold to a private collector for £3.55 million at Christie’s in London in March 2024.

In November, the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport had issued an export ban on the advice of the Export Reviewing Committee. By June 2025, the Hepworth Wakefield had launched its campaign with the vocal support of Contemporary artists Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread and Richard Deacon – a clear indicator of just how important the piece was considered.

The appeal won the support of more than 2,800 donations from members of the public, as well as major grants from the National Heritage Lottery Fund (£1.89m), and an exceptional grant of £750,000 from Art Fund. Significant support also came the Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation, The Forster Foundation, The Garcia Family Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Headley Trust, the Hepworth family, The Henry Moore Foundation, The Julia Rausing Trust and many other generous individuals, foundations and trusts.

Once the acquisition is made, the sculpture will go on permanent public display for the first time since its creation. The gallery will celebrate the sculpture’s arrival in Wakefield with a dedicated display telling the story of this remarkable work.

“As the birthplace of Barbara Hepworth, our district already has an amazing heritage of sculpture. So, we’re really pleased that The Hepworth Wakefield has successfully raised the funds to secure this wonderful and important sculpture, which once acquired will go on permanent public display for our residents and visitors to enjoy. And I can’t wait to see if for myself,” said Councillor Hannah Appleyard, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport.

Barbara Hepworth, Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red, 1943. Photograph: Betty Saunders