As we’re all looking for ways to cut back on our spending, it’s a welcome relief to know that not all great art is hidden behind hefty ticket prices. Here’s where to find some of the best inexpensive or – even better – free outdoor art in the UK. By Martha Alexander ▸
THE UK IS HOME TO SOME of the world’s most exciting artworks and while many are housed in galleries and private collections, plenty live year-round in the great outdoors. You don’t need to be a meteorologist to know that the UK is a place of unpredictable weather in all seasons, but summer really is the best time to enjoy outside art. From vestiges in artist’s gardens to collections stately parkland or towering public pieces, we round up some of the best art to see ‘in the wild.’
Barbara Hepworth Museum Cornwall
She might be Yorkshire born and bred, but the formidable Hepworth’s heart belonged in Cornwall, where she lived from 1939 until her death in 1975. Home was Trewyn Studio where she also worked – and is now known as the Barbara Hepworth Museum, part of Tate St Ives.
Hepworth described Trewyn as “a sort of magic” on account of its sense of space and the fact that it had a nothing short of magical garden for her to work in, too.
Today that garden’s appeal is still very much in evidence. It is a verdant, dreamy space, with a tropical inspired garden with many of the sculptures placed exactly as Hepworth had planned. From £7, tate.org.uk
Verity North Devon
Standing at over 20ft tall, Verity, the pregnant women holding a sword aloft on Ilfracombe Pier is nothing if not dramatic. The sculpture, by Damien Hirst, is on long-term loan to North Devon Council and can be seen all-year-round.
Verity, which shows on one side the interior of the foetus, is a controversial figure: some say it’s an ‘eyesore’ while others praise her for being an optimistic symbol of regeneration.
It’s divisive, but isn’t all great art? Free to visit
Houghton Hall Norfolk
The grounds of this jaw-dropping Palladian beauty hold a simply fabulous collection of contemporary sculpture: the contrast between the house’s classical proportions and features with the modernity of the artwork is surely a huge part of the appeal.
Works by artists such as Turner Prize winner Dame Rachel Whiteread and James Turrell are in the permanent collection, however, the big draw this summer is Smaller Than The Sky. The major showcase by Sean Scully whose sculptures include steel monuments and stacks of natura
