Born in Yorkshire and trained at Leeds School of Art and subsequently the Royal College of Art in London, Hepworth left London at the outbreak of the War and established herself in St Ives, Cornwall. This was to be her home for the rest of her life. Many of the simplified, organic, abstract forms and themes found in Hepworth's work can be linked to the Cornish landscape and coastline, which were a source of inspiration throughout her life. Her studio is now a museum dedicated to her work, It is owned and run by the Tate Gallery. Barbara Hepworth received numerous public commissions and awards during her career, including the creation of a landmark sculpture for the United Nations Building in New York (1962–3). She won the Grand Prix in the 1959 Sao Paulo Biennial and in 1965 became a Dame Commander of the British Empire. At the time of her death in 1975, Hepworth was a prominent figure in the international art world with work in all major museum collections. 

The New Art Centre is the sole representative of the Barbara Hepworth Estate, working closely with the family on a global exhibitions and sales programme. 2003 marked the Centenary of Barbara Hepworth's birth and was celebrated with major exhibitions at the New Art Centre, Tate St Ives, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Wakefield Art Gallery, the town of her birth. There was also a Hepworth exhibition at the Museum het Catharina Gasthuis, Gouda, Holland during the summer of 2003. The first retrospective in Spain of the artist's work took place in 2004 at the Institut Valencia d'Art Modern, and a further exhibition was held at the Musee des Beaux Arts in Nancy in 2006. The last few years have seen a great increase in interest in her work. Museums who do not already have examples of her sculpture have been acquiring major Hepworth pieces, which are now considered to be an important and key part of their collections.

The New Art Centre, founded in 1957 in London and based since 1994 at Roche Court in Wiltshire, exclusively represents the Hepworth Estate. Set in the rolling Wiltshire countryside, the landscape of Roche Court provides a magnificent setting for Barbara Hepworth's large outdoor sculpture. Special temporary exhibitions of domestic scale marbles and bronzes are also periodically presented in the award winning gallery and the Artists' House designed by Stephen Marshall. The family Estate contains an important and representative range of Barbara Hepworth's sculpture. It includes unique work marble and stone, a number of editioned bronzes and large-scale outdoor pieces. Working closely with the artist's family, the New Art Centre's aim is to increase public awareness of Hepworth's work and legacy. This is achieved through an international programme of exhibitions, loans and research.