Barbara Spring

(1917 - 2011)

Born in England in 1917, Barbara Spring came of age in Wales during a fraught time in Europe. She attended the Central School of Art in London for some time and then the Gravesend School of Art in Kent. She also served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during WWII. Shortly after the conclusion of the war, she immigrated to the United States with her American husband. They lived in San Francisco and on the East Coast, but together, they eventually relocated to the artist colony of Big Sur, where they remained for the rest of their lives.

Upon her arrival in Big Sur, she fell in with the group of Bohemian artists who relished in their artistic freedom. She had long worked in large-format wood sculpture, and she made a name for herself as one of the premier women sculptors in this medium. Her early exploration using fiberglass were also notable, during a period in time when women were rarely utilizing that material. While her work early in her career was more abstract and even minimalist, she quickly turned toward more figurative subject matter. She was particularly inspired by Pop art of the mid-1960s, and like her contemporary Wayne Thiebaud, she adopted food-based themes for a period of time. By the 1970s, coinciding with her permanent relocation to Big Sur, she had transitioned to an almost-exclusive human figurative approach. She imbued her life-sized, carved figures with individual personalities, resulting in a body of work that reflects her ability to connect meaningfully with her subjects.

"For me, it's all about freedom. The joy of working alone is what I really like, that flow of intuitive decisions. Actually, I can get lost in the work and completely forget I have arthritis. Which is a nice way to think about the future, don't you think?"