- A rare 1943 sculpture by Yorkshire-born artist Barbara Hepworth, titled Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red, has been acquired for permanent public display.
- A total of £3.8 million was raised to secure the artwork, following a temporary export bar that prevented it from leaving the UK last year.
- The fundraising appeal was led by The Hepworth Wakefield and national charity Art Fund, with major contributions from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund, and over 2,800 public donations.
- Having been in private ownership for decades, the wooden carving will now be publicly exhibited for the first time at The Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire, the artist's birthplace.
- The piece is one of only a few wooden carvings Hepworth created in the 1940s and the first to use strings, reflecting her adaptability during wartime in Cornwall.
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