Theatre Group No. 3 (1947)

British artist Barbara Hepworth, using pencil, oil and wax crayon, created an ‘animated kind of abstract sculpture’ based on an operation she was allowed to observe in the late 1940s. Despite the sparsity of colour and lack of movement, one detects the concentration and combined skill of the theatre team. She seems to emphasis the surgeons’ and their assistants’ eyes, which are one of the few anatomical regions unmasked and unscrubbed. The patient, whose head can not be seen, is the chief beneficiary of this watchful, silent collection of healthcare professionals. Hepworth says she was struck by the "extraordinary beauty of purpose and coordination", which reminded her of the artist’s own vocation. Of course, if surgeons and nurses fail to orchestrate and align, a patient may die; the artist merely starts over.

Our God, who is beyond our range of vision and whose mighty hands cannot be observed, subtly uses events, circumstances and providence to fulfil His own purposes. All things work together for the good of those who love Him; He raises kings and humbles them, He changes times and seasons. In short, His hand is steadier, His eye more watchful and His coordination more amazing than even Hepworth’s skilled surgeons.

A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9