The Cosdon Head was one of the first sculptures made by Hepworth in the Trewyn studio in St.Ives and she considered it one of her finest works. The two sides of the face are opposites, one flat, one rounded, one eye a simple hollow, the other a flourish of lines drawn with the point of a chisel. These two sides converge into the ridge of the profile to make a single entity which still retains the quality of a natural boulder.

Hepworth took nine weeks to carve the stone. Explaining her carving technique she said:

' Brute force has nothing to do with it. It is a question of movement, of rhythm. It is rather like tennis - the movement follows through from the right hand holding the hammer to the left hand holding the chisel. One feels the movement right through the arm.'