Yorkshire has grand, artistic ambitions. God’s Own County wants to be known as the sculpture capital of Europe, a prestigious title it believes it has the history, influence and reputation to do justice.
A campaign is now underway to have this officially recognised, and it is being spearheaded by quite the powerful coalition. The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Art Gallery, The Hepworth and Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park have come together to make this happen.
Further support has been extended to the group, with the Arts Council and Welcome to Yorkshire committed to helping out the four galleries as they boost the global profile of the county in the field of sculpture.
The initiative, which has been described as the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle, aims to bring to life and celebrate Yorkshire’s rich sculptural history, as well as highlighting the fact that two of the most important twentieth century artists in this field were from the region.
Henry Moore, renowned for his semi abstract bronze sculptures, usually of the human form, was born and raised in Castleford, while Barbara Hepworth, a modernist extraordinaire who constructed rhythmic works, came from Wakefield.
Both, in their own distinct way, radically changed the face of sculpture forever, and were as groundbreaking as Pablo Picasso, Marcel and Henri Matisse. Their embracement of the unconventional, the non-figurative narratives of their pieces, were revelatory and continue to influence today’s practitioners.
“The Arts Council has invested significantly in several of the organisations involved in the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle and I’m delighted that we can support a project which will attract further investment and visitors to Yorkshire,” said Cluny Macpherson, regional director of Arts Council England.
“It is a great example of how partnership working can help more people to become familiar with Yorkshire’s pre-eminence in modern sculpture.”
Chance has afforded all four of the establishments being within close proximity of one another, meaning that visitors can, to all intents, visit and enjoy the various unique offerings of all four galleries. A 30 minute ride is about the average distance between most of them. And they all have free admission.
“We will be highlighting how to get to Yorkshire, how to travel from gallery to gallery as well as signposting visitors towards the great places to stay and impressive places to eat,” said Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the official tourist board for the county.
“We will make it easy for those tempted, to come to Yorkshire and see some of the best sculpture in the world.”
Cadogan Tate can ship works of art to your chosen destination anywhere in the world.