Henry Moore

English sculptor (1898–1986)

Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English sculptor and artist in the modern art genre. He was best known for his abstract monumental sculptures, which are public works of art in many places around the world.

Henry Moore
Moore in 1975, by Allan Warren
Born
Henry Spencer Moore

(1898-07-30)30 July 1898
Died31 August 1986(1986-08-31) (aged 88)
NationalityEnglish
Known forsculpture, drawing
Notable workReclining Figures, 1930s – 1980s
MovementBronze Sculpture, Modernism
AwardsOM CH FBA

His forms are usually abstractions of the human figure, typically mother-and-child or reclining figures. Moore's works usually suggest the female body, apart from a phase in the 1950s when he did family groups. His forms are generally pierced or have hollow spaces. Some think the undulating form of his reclining figures reflect the landscape and hills of his birthplace, Yorkshire.

Moore was born in Castleford, the son of a mining engineer. He became known for his larger-scale abstract cast bronze and carved marble sculptures. His large-scale commissions made him exceptionally rich. Yet he lived carefully and most of the money he earned went towards endowing the Henry Moore Foundation. This supports education and promotion of the arts.[2]

He did some work in architecture. in 1955 Moore did his only work in carved brick, "Wall Relief" at the Bouwcentrum in Rotterdam. The brick relief was sculpted with 16,000 bricks by two Dutch bricklayers under Moore's supervision.

Wall Relief No. 1, (1955), Bouwcentrum, Rotterdam
The Art Gallery of Ontario's Henry Moore collection is the largest public collection of his works in the world.
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References

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  1. Deaths England and Wales 1984-2006
  2. "Chronology". Henry Moore Institute, Leeds. Retrieved on 22 September 2008. Archived 20 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine