Henry Moore is one of the most written about British artists of all time, and his work can be found in 38 countries.
Over the past 16 years that I have been working with the collections of the Henry Moore Foundation, one of the greatest challenges has been to research the relatively unknown facets of his work and find a context for the numerous items that have never emerged from their solander boxes or studio shelves.
There is also the challenge of repositioning Moore’s work in such a way that even the more familiar sculptures can be seen in a new light.
Who knew that fewer than 10 % of Moore’s sculptural ideas were ever enlarged beyond the size of his hand; that he spent a decade designing dress and upholstery fabrics; or that he made dozens of preparatory drawings for graphics from coloured tissue and felt-tip pen?
Few are aware that Moore mapped the human body with contour lines and fragmented it to create sculptures of sublime landscapes, or that he turned to ancient Greek mythology in the postwar era to draw parallels with the human condition in the 20th century.
Henry Moore: Late Large Forms ( until 18 August) at the Gagosian Gallery is the latest in a series of shows mounted by the foundation to provide new insight into Moore.
Picking up where the recent Tate retrospective concluded, it focuses on the artist’s dynamic last 20 years, when the hard edges and sliced bronze forms of his monumental bronzes enable them to challenge any site – particularly the urban settings in which his sculptures were increasingly sited.
The bronzes address what Moore saw as a historical imbalance between sculpture and architecture.
The accompanying publication is an important contribution to scholarship on Moore. It provides an in-depth exploration of the architectural connection with the late bronzes.
Art historian Anne Wagner has written an essay looking at Moore’s working methods and the invaluable contribution of his assistants. Photographs compare works in landscape with those in a gallery setting.
The book also delves into the history of each piece with rarely seen images from the foundation’s archive showing the works in progress, some taken by Moore himself.
Anita Feldman is the head of collections and exhibitions at the Henry Moore Foundation, Hertfordshire
Over the past 16 years that I have been working with the collections of the Henry Moore Foundation, one of the greatest challenges has been to research the relatively unknown facets of his work and find a context for the numerous items that have never emerged from their solander boxes or studio shelves.
There is also the challenge of repositioning Moore’s work in such a way that even the more familiar sculptures can be seen in a new light.
Who knew that fewer than 10 % of Moore’s sculptural ideas were ever enlarged beyond the size of his hand; that he spent a decade designing dress and upholstery fabrics; or that he made dozens of preparatory drawings for graphics from coloured tissue and felt-tip pen?
Few are aware that Moore mapped the human body with contour lines and fragmented it to create sculptures of sublime landscapes, or that he turned to ancient Greek mythology in the postwar era to draw parallels with the human condition in the 20th century.
Henry Moore: Late Large Forms ( until 18 August) at the Gagosian Gallery is the latest in a series of shows mounted by the foundation to provide new insight into Moore.
Picking up where the recent Tate retrospective concluded, it focuses on the artist’s dynamic last 20 years, when the hard edges and sliced bronze forms of his monumental bronzes enable them to challenge any site – particularly the urban settings in which his sculptures were increasingly sited.
The bronzes address what Moore saw as a historical imbalance between sculpture and architecture.
The accompanying publication is an important contribution to scholarship on Moore. It provides an in-depth exploration of the architectural connection with the late bronzes.
Art historian Anne Wagner has written an essay looking at Moore’s working methods and the invaluable contribution of his assistants. Photographs compare works in landscape with those in a gallery setting.
The book also delves into the history of each piece with rarely seen images from the foundation’s archive showing the works in progress, some taken by Moore himself.
Anita Feldman is the head of collections and exhibitions at the Henry Moore Foundation, Hertfordshire
