Summer Sculpture

One outdoor, two indoor, there are three very different family sculpture outings.

1. A trip to Kew Gardens should be top of every summer holiday list.

Henry Moore said that sculpture was 'an art of the open air'. For Henry Moore: Monumental Nature, the biggest outdoor Moore show ever staged, Kew Gardens have been turned into a glorious, outdoor sculpture park. The show has been on since May and runs all year but is well worth a separate trip in each of the changing seasons.

There are thirty pieces dotted throughout the grounds and a leisurely family walk will take a couple of hours. the curators' aim of placing the sculptures 'in dialogue' with Kew's trees and historic landscapes is brilliantly realised. Children will have fun running up the long vistas towards the pieces, looking at them from alternative perspectives and noticing the different materials used. The resultant 'experience' of art is completely unlike one in a gallery.

Whether or not you do the full thirty, make sure you pick up the free family trail (and free pencil) at the entrance. Aimed at children aged 5–12, it focuses on ten works, the numbers of which, slightly frustratingly, don't correspond to the main trail numbers. Persevere, it is well worth it! There are hands on activities, drawing tasks, anecdotes about Moore's life and gentle prompts for imaginative leaps.

For older children, complete your trip with a visit to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art. 90 of Moore's smaller-scale works, plus drawings and sketchbooks, make for a fascinating deep dive into this giant of modern art.

Go early - the gardens open at 10am - and finish up with a picnic.

Henry Moore: Monumental Nature 9 May–31 January 2027 Kew Gardens Tickets (included with gardens entry): £21.85 adults, £8.75 ages 16–29, £1.75 ages 4–15, U4s free.

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2. Escape the summer heat into structured calm at the top of the Courtauld Gallery. Under 18s are free.

Barbara Hepworth was at art school with Henry Moore and they had a, not uncomplicated, friendship and rivalry.

Hepworth in Colour runs at the Courtauld until 7 September. The controlled precision of the work on display in two small rooms at the top of the gallery is on an entirely different scale to Moore at Kew but, for an older teen, weaves its own magic. A few carefully selected sculpture pieces are surrounded by paintings and drawings showing how important colour was to Hepworth, both in natural materials and in new industrial paints.

To complete your art history lesson on giants of British modern art, pop into the small accompanying exhibition of photographs of Hepworth and her husband, Ben Nicholson, in their Hampstead studio.

Neither of these are suitable for little ones. Younger siblings will enjoy the breezy brilliance of the permanent Impressionist collection, on the same floor at the Hepworth, and free to all.

Hepworth in Colour 12 June–6 September Courtauld Gallery, 3rd floor Tickets: £18 adults, U18s free. Entrance to the permanent collection, including the Impressionist galleries, directly outside the Denise Coates galleries where the Hepworth is being shown, is free.

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3. Last up, the shape-shifting, mind-bending, sculptures of Anish Kapoor at the Hayward Gallery.

A smooth giant red bean seems to be trying to burst out of the concrete walls as you come in, a room of shiny steel and monochrome sculptures do funny things to your eyes. Is it a hole, is it a sphere?

There are red rock formations that look like a cross between Uhuru and molten larva, piles of painted silicone that look like bloody guts. Outside there are bendy, mirrored sculptures bouncing off images of the Southbank and the London skyline. It is OTT, it is fun, it has got a decent dash of yuck factor, it is in the PERFECT space, we reckon kids will love it!

Anish Kapoor16 June–18 October Hayward Gallery, Southbank Tickets: £22 adults, £7 ages 12–16, U12s free.