People walk across the grass in the country park towards a Henry Moore sculpture.

YSP recognised as ‘gold’ winners in Visit England Awards

News / 26 Oct 2022

News Story


VisitEngland has recognised YSP for our outstanding visitor experience as they announced the latest winners of the Visitor Attraction Accolades 2021-2022.

YSP have been named as ‘gold’ winners and were amongst 97 attractions to be recognised for the exceptional experiences they provide visitors based on the scores they gained in their annual Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme assessment by VisitEngland.

Cllr Michael Graham, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, said: “This is excellent recognition for our district which offers great cultural attractions for residents and visitors to enjoy. I’m so proud that Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth Wakefield have received this top accolade – they are fantastic places to visit.”

Helen Featherstone, Deputy Director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park said: “YSP is immensely proud to be awarded a gold accolade from VisitEngland for our overall visitor experience. We strive to bring the best to Yorkshire and that includes our visitor experience. We pride ourselves on quality and want to ensure that all visitors have a quality experience, creating memories at YSP. This award is testament to the hard work and expertise of our Visitor Engagement Team, and we are very grateful to VisitEngland for their recognition. It is also really pleasing to know that Wakefield is the only place with two gold accolades, with our friends at The Hepworth Wakefield also receiving this award. Congratulations to The Hepworth Wakefield!”

Fellow Wakefield gallery The Hepworth Wakefield also received a gold award, with Wakefield the only city in Yorkshire to receive two gold awards.

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    Moore’s recumbent figures reflect many different stages of abstraction, with Reclining Figure Arch Leg being highly abstract and comprising two highly simplified forms to suggest a body. Moore often thought of the human figure in terms of landscape, and the reclining position reflects the horizontal bands of earth, sea and sky. The torso and arched leg of this work could be seen as resembling a sea stack and arch as found around the coast of this country.
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    Large Spindle Piece was based on the shape of a piece of flint with protruding points that Moore found near his Perry Green home. It was also greatly inspired by Moore’s fascination with Michelangelo, which had begun almost 50 years earlier. A Royal Academy Scholarship had enabled Moore to travel to Italy in 1925 where he visited the Sistine Chapel.
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    Large Two Forms can be found in the Country Park – Moore’s favourite area of the Bretton Estate, where he enjoyed seeing his sculptures surrounded by sheep. The colossal sculpture is impressive in both scale and composition, appearing very different from every angle and continuing the theme of points that almost meet, which appears in much of Moore’s work.