Eva Hesse died of a brain tumour in 1970 at the age of thirty four, and her brief life and exceptional work have given her an almost mythic status in the art world. She was born in Hamburg in 1936, and in 1938 her family escaped Nazi persecution by fleeing to Holland, eventually making their way to London, and later in 1939 to New York. Her career as a sculptor developed during the 1960s and her work became known for its unusual materials including string, resin and latex which she used to make sculptures that explored the expressive possibilities of abstract form and themes of sexuality. Since her first posthumous retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 1972, her work has been acquired by major museums and collections around the world. She has strongly influenced younger artists both in her work and as a role model.