Conversation with Magic Stones

This is one of several multi-part sculptures Hepworth made on the theme of social interaction. She called the three vertical elements 'figures' and the three other elements 'magic stones'. The number three recurs frequently in the artist's work, as she gave birth to triplets in 1934. The magic stones are identical eight-sided polyhedrons, although it is difficult to tell this as they each sit on different sides. Each stone has unique decorations, such as incised circles or textured areas. Hepworth lived in St Ives, Cornwall, and the prehistoric standing stones in the area may have inspired this work.

Credit: Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 1978