BARBARA HEPWORTH (1903-1975):

Tibia Graft

Pencil and oil

Purchased by Wakefield Corporation, 1951

A1. 549

In November 1943, one of Barbara Hepworth’s daughters (Sarah, one of triplets) developed osteomyelitis of the thigh. This necessitated an operation and subsequent treatment at the Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Centre in Exeter by Mr. Norman Capener. Artist and surgeon subsequently became friends and she encouraged his activities as a ‘weekend sculptor’.

At his invitation she came to the hospital in November 1947 watching him in out-patients but more particularly in the operating theatre; other visits to London and Exeter followed. These studies of orthopaedic procedures form the great majority of Hepworth’s sixty-plus hospital drawings/paintings but there is also a small group of six paintings involving an operation on the ear made in April and May 1948.

Object of the Month included in Treasures of the North event at the House of Commons

On the 28 February 2007 a range of specially selected National Treasures were taken to the House of Commons from Museums, Libraries and Archives  in Yorkshire, and the North East and North West regions of England.

The items were on display at a special reception for Members of Parliament and the House of Lords and included the football from the 1966 World Cup final, Kim Philby’s passport, issued in 1933 and our Object of the Month, a drawing by Barbara Hepworth entitled ‘Tibia Graft’.

The aim of the event was to celebrate the rich culture and history of the North of England and to demonstrate the contribution to the life and prosperity of the regions that culture makes, through tourism, learning, social identity and a sense of community.

The Hepworth drawing was selected not only for its artistic merits but because it captures the birth of the National Health Service which will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2008.