Hepworth and Nicholson's Hampstead Studio Photographs at Courtauld

Twenty-three black-and-white photographs taken by Paul Laib in 1932-33 of the shared studio of Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson go on display at the Courtauld Gallery in London from June 6 to October 4. The exhibition includes fourteen vintage prints and nine modern prints from Laib's archive of 22,000 glass-plate negatives, gifted to the Courtauld in 1974 by Patrick de Laszlo. The images reveal the creative dialogue between the two artists, who were a couple from 1931 to 1951, and show Laib's departure from his typical straight artwork photography, as Hepworth and Nicholson directed the shots inspired by Brassaï's photographs of Picasso's studio. The show accompanies the Courtauld's larger Hepworth in Colour exhibition (June 12-September 6). Co-curators Chloe Nahum and Gerlind May organized the display, which also features images of Hepworth's hands commissioned for a book on Unit One members.