The St Ives School: Artists of Light and Stone
Walking the moors of West Penwith, granite farmhouses nestle in crevices and mine ruins trail along the clifftops. We see through the eyes of artists past — witnessing the same light that disperses across the same craggy coast.
To the east of these moors sits St Ives. A small fishing town, it became a magnetic force for artists, drawn by its lustrous, shifting light and rugged beauty of its surroundings. What followed was one of the most significant movements in modern British art: a commune of painters, sculptors and potters formed during the mid-20th century, known as the St Ives School.
Fleeing war-torn cities, they found in St Ives not just refuge but a source of profound creative renewal. What emerged was not only their distinct style of abstraction but a deeply rooted relationship with the Cornish landscape.
The group spanned two generations of artists. Leading the early movement were the influential couple — sculptor Barbara Hepworth and painter Ben Nicholson. Already recognised figures in British art, their presence drew others alongside them. Their move to Cornwall, prompted by the outbreak of World War II, gave them an intimate connection to their natural surroundings — a kind of elemental grounding that stood in stark contrast to the violence and upheaval of the cities at the time. For Hepworth, this connection was tactile and spiritual. She often described her sculptures as born from the landscape, shaped by the curves of cliffs and the stones she gathered daily:
