Henry Moore

Born in Yorkshire in 1898, Henry Moore started sculpting when he was still a child, more precisely when he was only 11 years old, after coming into contact with the works of Michelangelo. The son of a miner, he began his studies in Leeds after fighting in the First World War, and in 1919 he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Royal College of Art. His interest in primitive and classical sculpture led him to frequent the British Museum and to travel through Italy, France and Spain. In 1921 he moved to London where he studied at the Royal College of Art with a scholarship, graduating in 1925. In the same year he became a professor of sculpture at the same institution, where he taught until 1932. He put on his first solo exposition in London in 1928. In 1932 he transferred his professorship to the Chelsea School of Art. In 1933 he became a member of “Unit One”, a group of young English artists. In 1939 the Chelsea School was disbanded, its studio bombed and Moore interrupted his classes, transferring to Kingston for the year. In 1940 Moore was named the “war artist”, the era in which he initiated his famous series of anti-aerial refuge drawings. In 1941 he was elected a member of the council of the Tate Gallery, where he served for seven years after being re-elected in 1949. During this time, he travelled to New York where he exhibited individual drawings and sculptures, putting on expositions in Chicago and San Francisco as well. In 1945 the University of Leeds granted Moore the title of “Honorary Doctor”. International recognition came in the following year when he was awarded the prize at the XXIV Venice Biennial. In 1949 retrospective expositions were organized for his work in Belgium, France, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Yugoslavia and Japan. In 1953 the University of London awarded him an honorary doctorate in Literature/Letters. In 1954 he participated in the San Paulo’s Second Biennial, presenting nearly 70 of his works. Five years later, in the US, he was awarded the title of “Honorary Doctor” in Fine Arts from Harvard University. In 1977 a large retrospective of his works was organized in the Jardin des Tuilleries (Garden of Tuilleries) in Paris, with close to 244 works, including drawings and sculptures. Moore’s works can be classified as belonging to two distinct periods, as much in his use of materials and sculptural techniques, as in his formal approach. Between 1922 and 1939, the material chosen were stone and wood; in this period he was considered part of the surrealist movement, and he took interest in “objets trouvés” (found objects) as the starting materials for his sculptural creations. After the War, Moore dedicated himself to modelling based in bronze. The central theme that flowed through both phases was the human figure, above all that of the female (the mother with her son, a reclining figure, etc). From the 50s onwards Moore kept himself within a more formal “interior/exterior” thematic, integrating his figures into landscapes; in do so, he produced sculptures on a much larger scale, contracting assistants including Anthony Caro, Phillip King, John Farnham, Malcolm Woodward and Michel Muller. Their works consist of the most significant institutions in the world, such as: the Art Gallery of Ontario; the British Museum in London; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the British Council in London. Beyond these Moore constructed works in diverse public locations, such as the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris and the British Parliament in London. In 1977 he created The Henry Moore Foundation in London; later, in 1982, the Foundation, in coordination with the Leeds City Council, established The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds dedicated exclusively to sculpture with a program composed of expositions, collections and research. Moore is considered one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century and one of the principal names in art in the United Kingdom. He died in 1986 in Much Hadham, leaving many of his great works with the Foundation which carries his name.