Dorothy Hepworth's life and work has been overshadowed by her flamboyant life-long partner, Patricia Preece, who bizarrely married Stanley Spencer in 1937 but continued to live with Dorothy in a lesbian relationship. For many decades Dorothy has remained an enigmatic, shadowy, figure - her name only mentioned in passing as Patricia Preece's 'friend' and thus her work as a painter has never received the attention it deserves.
During her lifetime Patricia Preece was highly regarded as an artist by luminaries such as Augustus John, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf amongst others. We now know that this reputation was gained by signing and exhibiting works painted by her partner Dorothy Hepworth.
We are delighted to be collaborating with Charleston in Lewes who will be staging a major exhibition of Dorothy Hepworth's paintings and drawings.
The exhibition will coincide with the publication - The Secret Art of Dorothy Hepworth also Known as Patricia Preece by Denys J. Wilcox which tells this extraordinary untold story in full for the first time.
https://www.charleston.org.uk/exhibition/dorothy-hepworth-and-patricia-preece-an-untold-story/
Read Laura Freeman's preview in The Times -
