Dame Barbara Hepworth sculpture sold for £3.5m at auction

Dame Barbara Hepworth created the sculpture in 1944

A sculpture by Dame Barbara Hepworth has sold for more than £3.5m at auction.

The oval-shaped piece, carved in 1943 by the Wakefield-born artist, was sold by Christie's auction house in London.

Titled Sculpture With Colour Pale Blue And Red, it had been initially estimated to fetch between £2.2m and £3.2m, but sold for £3,549,000.

Dame Barbara's brass 1957 sculpture Maquette For Winged Figure also went under the hammer and sold for £277,200.

It was one of several items included in the Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale which took place on 20 March.

A painting titled Sunday Afternoon from British artist LS Lowry sold for almost £6.3m, while Londoner Lynn Chadwick's metallic sculpture, Sitting Couple On Bench, sold for £1.6m.