This display explores the cross-fertilisation between the respective art practices of West Cornwall and West Yorkshire since the second half of the 20th century.
Cornwall, and in particular St Ives, has attracted artists since the late 19th century. In the early decades of the 20th century modern artists began to congregate in the area, while in the 1950s the establishment of the Gregory Fellowships in painting, sculpture, music and poetry at the University of Leeds in 1950 offered new opportunities for artists to work in Yorkshire for a period.
Recent acquisitions by artists Ro Robertson, Emii Alrai and Veronica Ryan are here presented in dialogue with sculptures, paintings and ceramics by Hepworth and other artists living and working in Yorkshire and/or Cornwall from the 1920s to the 1970s.
Image: Ro Robertson, Torso III, 2022. Leeds Museums and Galleries (Leeds Art Gallery). Presented by the Contemporary Art Society through a special partnership with the Henry Moore Foundation, supported by Cathy Wills, 2022/23 © Ro Robertson. Courtesy the artist and Maximillian William, London. Photo credit: Robert Glowacki