Barbara Hepworth Museum & Sculpture Garden

Barbara Hepworth was one of the leading abstract sculptors of the 20th century, and a key figure in the St Ives art scene, so it seems fitting that her former studio has been transformed into a moving museum. The studio has remained practically untouched since her death in a fire in 1975, and the adjoining garden contains some of her most famous sculptures.

Hepworth was known for her use of geometric shapes and striking mix of natural materials and sculpted metal; many of her pieces show a fascination with pagan or primitive motifs, inspired by her fascination with Cornwall's prehistoric monuments. Works to look out for amongst the shrubs include the harplike Garden Sculpture (Model for Meridian) and the huge Four Square, the largest work Hepworth ever created. Her art is also dotted around the rest of town; there's a Hepworth sculpture outside the Guildhall, and her moving Madonna And Child inside St Ia Church commemorates her son Paul Skeaping, who was killed in an air crash in 1953.