Sleeping Calf 1944

Grace H. Turnbull made this sculpture of a Sleeping Calf from stone at an unknown date. The way she’s worked the stone, you can really feel the weight and density of the material. The surface is really interesting. It's not smooth or polished, but roughly textured, almost like the calf's woolly coat is emerging from the rock itself. You can see the marks of the tools she used to carve it, each little chip and scrape telling a story of the making process. It's like she’s letting us in on the secret of how she transformed a solid block of stone into this soft, vulnerable creature. Look at the way the calf is curled up, its legs tucked underneath its body. The folds and curves of the stone are so gentle, so tender. There’s something about the way she’s captured the stillness of sleep that feels really profound. This reminds me of the work of Barbara Hepworth, who also worked with stone and often explored themes of nature and the human form. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, an ongoing dialogue between artists and ideas.