Henry Moore

Dates: b.1898 - d.1986

Gender: Male

Nationality: British

Henry Moore decided to become a sculptor at only eleven after hearing of Michelangelo's achievements. In his twenties, Moore became interested in non-Western art, filling sketchbooks with drawings of South American and Pre-Colombian sculpture perhaps most tellingly of Chac Mool figures. Chac Mools are Pre-Columbian stone sculptures of reclining figures with their heads upturned. Read more…

Biography:

Henry Moore decided to become a sculptor at only eleven after hearing of Michelangelo's achievements. In his twenties, Moore became interested in non-Western art, filling sketchbooks with drawings of South American and Pre-Colombian sculpture perhaps most tellingly of Chac Mool figures. Chac Mools are Pre-Columbian stone sculptures of reclining figures with their heads upturned. The dual influences of non-western art as well as his collections of driftwood and other organic forms were to have a profound impact in creating his instantly recognizable and unique personal style. Best known perhaps are his large-scale bronze undulating abstractions of the human form, many in a reclining position.

In the 1930’s he moved to Hampstead and became part of the burgeoning creative community that included his colleague from college, sculptor Barbara Hepworth. The close proximity of talent in Hampstead led to an exchange of ideas and influences as well as making it a stopping point for artists, designers, architects and intellectuals fleeing the coming war in continental Europe. During this time he made lasting friendships and connections that influenced and shaped his future career. During the war he worked as a war artist mostly sketching the effects of the blitz. His drawings of evacuees sleeping in tube stations gained notoriety in the United States, leading to many commissions and exhibitions there. Post-war Moore was to become the most important sculptor in Britain and one of the most important and influential sculptors of the twentieth century.

Moore produced many public commissions including at UNESCO headquarters, Paris, France and at the Houses of Parliament, United Kingdom. In 1948 Moore won the International Sculpture Prize at the Venice Biennale, was a featured artists of the Festival of Britain in 1951 and participated in the legendary Documenta 1 in 1955. Before his death in 1986 he founded The Henry Moore Foundation to preserve his legacy as well as fund arts education and institutions. His body is interred in the Artists' Corner at St Paul's Cathedral.