Overview

• The Hepworth Wakefield will place Sculpture with Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue and Red on permanent public display in Wakefield, the artist’s hometown.
• The appeal hit its £3.8 million target ahead of an August 27 deadline, drawing more than 2,800 public donations alongside £1.89 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £750,000 from Art Fund.
• The 1943 painted wood and string piece is among Hepworth’s earliest stringed works and one of few wooden carvings from the 1940s, having been rarely seen due to private ownership.
• UK authorities imposed a temporary export bar after the work was sold at Christie’s to a private buyer last year, using the Waverley Criteria to allow time for a UK acquisition.
• Support came from leading artists including Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread and Richard Deacon, with the museum indicating the sculpture will be available for UK loans.