Henry Moore  (1898 - 1986)

Nationality:

British

Approach:

Semi-abstract sculpture based on natural forms

1898 30 July: Born at Castleford, Yorkshire, a small mining town near Leeds. He was the seventh child of Raymond Spencer Moore (1849-1921) and Mary Baker (1860-1944). His father began work at the age of nine on a farm, but for most of his life was a coal-miner. Self-educated, he was an active Socialist and Trades Unionist.
1915: Became a student teacher, despite his ambition to be a sculptor, in accordance with his father's wish that he should first qualify in a secure profession.
1916: Took up a teaching post in September at his old elementary school.
1917: Enlisted in the 15th London Regiment. Sent to France in early summer. Gassed in the battle of Cambrai. Sent back to hospital in England early in December.
1918: After concalescence redrafted to France in November.
1919: Demobilized in February and resumed his old teaching post a month later.
1922: Began to spend his vacations in Norfolk, where he started doing sculpture out of doors.
Away from the College made his first direct carvings, in stone and wood, influenced by primitive and archic sculpture and by Gaudier-Brzeska and Epstein.
1923: At Whitsun made the first of more or less annual visits to Paris. Saw the Cezannes in the Pellerin collection.
1924: On completing his third year as a student there, was appointed instructor in the Sculpture School. Postponed going abroad in order to take temporary charge of the department.
1924:`Carvings included first reclining figure.
1925: In France and Italy from the end of January till mid-July.
1929: In July married Irina Radetzky, a painting student at the Royal College of Art. Moved into a studio at 11a Parkhill Road, Hampstead.
1929: First reclining figure influenced by the Chacmool from Chichen Itza. First cubist-inspired use of a hole in a figure composition.
1930: Elected to the 7 and 5 Society (1920-35). Members in the 1930s included Nicholson, Hepworth, Hitchens, Piper.
Published his first article: a statement in a series on contemporary English sculptors, Architectural Association Journal, May. First article published on his work: by R.H. Wilenski, Applo, December.
1932: Appointed Head of a new sculpture department at Chelsea School of Art, under H.S. Williamson.
1933: Member of Unit 1, founded this year by Paul Nash. Other members included Hepworth, Armstrong, Burra, Nicholson, Wadsworth and the architects Wells Coates and Colin Lucas.
1934: Took a cottage with a large field (where he could work out of doors) at Kingston,near Canterbury. First monograph published on him: Henry Moore, Sculptor, Herbert Read.
1934: First monolithic, rectilinear abstract forms. First multiple-piece compositions.
1935: Began working on stone carving out of doors at Kingston. Abstract carvings in stone and wood. Started first opened-out reclining figure (elm wood).
1936: A founder member of the Surrealist group in England. Made a tour of cave paintings in the Pyrenees and at Altamira; visited Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona. Exhibited in the International Surrealist Exhibition at the New Burlington Galleries.
1937: First stringed figures in wood. About now started to make sketch-models for sculptures, rather than carving directly on the basis of a drawing.
1938: Began to cast small sculptures in lead: the first of a series of reclining figures.
1939: Gave up teaching at Chelsea School of Art.
1939: Made first internal/external sculpture - a helmet in lead.
1940: Returned to London. When studio was damaged by bombed in October, took the house at Perry Green, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, where he has lived since.
1940: First shelter drawings
1940: Subsequently appointed official War Artist (until 1942).
1941: Appointed a Trustee of the Tate Gallery. Served continually on numerous boards, including the National Gallery, the Arts Council, the Royal Fine Art Commission, the National Theatre.
Worked on shelter drawings.
1942: Went to Castleford for a fortnight in January, under the auspices of the War Artists' Advisory Committee, to observe miners at the coal face, then made a series of drawings. Resumed drawings for sculpture, including studies of draped figures.
1945: Created Honorary Doctor of Literature at the University of Leeds - first academic award. Later received Honorary Doctorates from numerous British and foreign universities, including Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge.
1946: Birth of his daughter, Mary.
Visited New York for the first time.
1948: Served on the committee of the first London County Council Open Air Exhibition of Sculpture, held at Battersea Park.
1951: First trip to Greece.
1953: First visit to Mexico and Brazil.
Started large wood version of upright internal/external sculpture, also large bronze internal/external reclining figure.
1954: Completed large bronze figure of a warrior and worked on stone carving of a family group for Harlow. From about this time virtually gave up making drawings from sculpture and came increasingly to use pebbles and bones in composing sketch-models.
1955: Companion of Honour.
Began a series of free-standing totemic sculptures with interlocking biomorphic forms related to the Bouwcentrum designs.
1957: Visited Italy to begin carving the Unesco figure at the stoneyard at Querceta, near Carrara: it was completed on the site.
1958: First abstract forms in a setting. Large bronzes of draped women.
1959: Small bronze figures of animals and birds. First two piece bronze reclining figure.
1962: Began work on Locking Piece.
1963: Awarded Order of Merit.
1964: Mostly worked on Lincoln Center Commission and the full-scale version of the Locking Piece.
1965: Bought a cottage at Forte de Marmi near the Carrara quarries, as a summer studio for stone carving.
1966: Visited Canada; The Archer erected in front of City Hall, Toronto.
1967: Announcement of his proposal to donate 20-30 major works to the Tate Gallery.
1969: Etchings based on elephant's skull.
1972: Published series of lithographs illustrating Auden poems. Also series of lithographs on Stonehedge. Henry Moore Sculpture Centre opened in new extension of Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
1978: Mirror: Knife-Edge placed outside new extension of National Gallery of Arts, Washington.

Education

1921: Won a scholarship in Sculpture to the Royal College of Art.
1919: Studied at Leeds School of Art, where he studied for two years.
1910: Won a scholarship from his elementary school to Castleford Grammar School.

Awards

1948: Won the International Sculpture Prize at the 24th Venice Biennale: first of several international awards.
1924: Awarded Royal College of Art Travelling Scholarship

Other Activities

1965: Commission for a sundial for The Times building, London and a large abstract for Chicago University
1963: Commission for large two piece reclining figure for Lincoln Center, New York.
1956: Commissioned to make a sculpture for the forecourt of the new Unesco headquarters in Paris.
1954: Commission to design a relief in brick for the Bouwcentrum, Rotterdam.
1952: Commission for a stone screen and a bronze reclining figure for a new Time-Life Building, London.
1950: Commission from the Arts Council for a large bronze reclining figure for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
1948: Started bronze Family Group commissioned of the Barclay School of Art, Stevenage: first life-size bronze
1948: Began carving a Madonna and Child commissioned for St. Peter's, Claydon, Suffolk.
1943: Commissioned to carve a Madonna and Child for St. Matthew's, Northampton.
1928: Began work on first public commission - a relief carving for a façade of the new Underground station building St. James's Park.

Works by Henry Moore 

Pointed Torso Henry Moore 1969

< back