The Hepworth Wakefield in Wakefield, England

A small former mining town which is only gradually recovering from the total loss of its coal mining industry is hardly the place to expect, what can only be described as, a world class museum. However, Barbara Hepworth was a world renowned artist, known mainly for her abstract sculptures. The museum named in her honour and containing a great deal of her work opened in the town of her birth in 2011. She was was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England in 1903 and educated at the Leeds School of Art alongside her great friend Henry Moore. Her most famous work is located outside the United Nations building in New York which she created as a memorial to the former Secretary General, Dag Hammarsskjöld who was also a close friend of hers. She is best known as the sculptor who introduced the pierced form to her abstract works, a feature which was later adopted by Henry Moore and who sometimes, wrongly, gets the credit. The building was designed by David Chipperfield. It is a great example of modern architecture which contrast very well with a group of magnificent former industrial buildings in brick (now including many work spaces for creatives) which are just at the southern boundary of the museum. The trapezoid forms of the concrete structure which forms the museum "dips its feet" on one side into the River Calder, directly alongside a very attractive weir and directly across the road from the famous Chantry Chapel. The collection includes work from a range of artists including LS Lowry . Henry Moore, Ronald Moody and David Hockney. There is also much space for regularly changing temporary exhibitions (including rotation of the City's art collection) and a small sculpture garden outside. The institution is deliberately described here as a museum rather than a gallery since great effort is made to enlighten the visitor as to the processes used in creating the art. This museum is well worth the visit, particularly if you also take in the Chantry Bridge. Some seven miles to the southwest is the Yorkshire Sculpture park which is an outdoor space with many, much larger modern sculptures. If you are travelling by car it is easy to incorporate a visit here with a trip to the Hepworth.