Barbara Hepworth was primarily a sculptor whose work met with great success. She was married to Ben Nicholson and together they made up the nucleus of the St Ives group. In 1933 she and Nicholson visted Paris where they met Picasso and Braque but also, more importantly for her, Jean Arp and Brancusi and it was the work of these two artists, and Nicholson, which had the most influence on her.
In 1968 and 1970 she drew two groups of lithographs at the Curwen Studio which broke new ground for her. In concept they were sculptural but as prints they became important examples of abstract art in Britain at the time. Lithography best suited her feeling for the creation of shapes with graphic lines. These lithographs have become increasingly more scarce and sought after.