Winged Figure in 1961. John Lewis originally approached Jacob Epstein to create a sculpture to decorate the plain Portland stone side wall of the new store, but he declined as he was engaged on other commissions. Instead, in May 1961, John Lewis asked six other artists to propose designs. In addition to Hepworth – whose breakthrough public sculpture, "Meridian", had recently been installed outside State House on Holborn – the others were Ralph Brown, Geoffrey Clarke, Tony Hollaway, Stefan Knapp, William Mitchell and Hans Tisdall. None of their initial designs was accepted. Hepworth had been asked to express "the idea of common
Dorothy Hepworth Dorothy Hepworth Dorothy Hepworth (1898 – 8 September 1978) was a British painter and the life partner of Patricia Preece. Hepworth met Patricia Preece at the Slade School of Fine Art in 1917, and graduated from there with first class honours in 1919. The two became lovers. While still a student, Hepworth began exhibiting her work. After graduation, she spent four years with Preece in Paris, where Hepworth studied at the Académie Colarossi and Preece was a pupil of André Lhote. They returned to England in 1925, where they relocated to Cookham for Hepworth's health. The two received financial help