The Family of Man was one of the last major works that Barbara Hepworth made before her death. Each of the nine sculptures represents a stage of life, with the sculptures' abstract forms becoming more sophisticated in composition as they mature. The nine upright figures resemble one another, like the family to which they allude.

The Family of Man has been on public display at Yorkshire Sculpture Park since 1980.

Barbara Hepworth is one of the most important artists of the 20th century. She had an influential career spanning over fifty years. At the time, British sculpture and modernism was dominated by men. 

Born in Wakefield, Hepworth studied at Leeds School of Art. She was greatly inspired by her early years in Yorkshire. She moved to Cornwall in 1939, where her studio overlooked St Ives bay. Describing the Cornish land and sea, she wrote about how "the quality of light and colour" excited and inspired her. Hepworth loved to carve, and she created sculptures in wood, marble and bronze. She took inspiration from organic forms, nature and landscape.