Dame Barbara Hepworth was an English artist and sculptor who was closely associated with the St Ives group. She was one of the most important figures in the development of abstract art in Britain.
Hepworth is best known for her iconic, modernist sculptures that value ‘pure form’ over representation. A study in the effect of line, tone, and colour, ‘Oval Form with Strings’ shows that Hepworth also explored the abstract form in 2D mediums. The sketch seems to relate to her famous stringed sculptures, which use taut lengths of string to delineate the negative space created by the work.