1965
Bronze
Signed Moore and numbered 6/6
h30.5cm (including base)
Conceived in 1957 and cast in 1964-65 in an edition of six plus one Artist’s Copy.
Catalogue number LH 433.

Literature

A. Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore, Sculpture and Drawings, vol. III, Sculpture 1955-1964, London, 1965, no. 433 (another cast illustrated p. 25).
I. Jianou, Henry Moore, Paris, 1968, p. 82.

The lone, seated female figure is one of Henry Moore’s most iconic motifs. He began executing drawings on the subject in the 1920s, but did not start sculpting it seriously until the mid-1950s. This period also represented a transitional phase in Moore’s working practice, in which he increasingly made models, maquettes and small-scale iterations of sculptures in place of sketches and drawings. The seated woman is a figure of contemplation, staring out into the world, alone but content. Moore was one of the pioneers of abstraction in early 20th century sculpture and developed new and highly idiosyncratic treatments of the human figure, often inspired by geological forms, lending his work an organic vitality. Seated Woman on a Curved Block (1957) demonstrates Moore’s abstraction of the human figure, but also represents the artist’s return to a more literal representation of human form in the post-war period, with specific attention paid to the details of the face and hands. This small sculpture is an exquisite example of one of Moore’s most highly regarded compositions.

Henry Moore OM CH FBA (1898 – 1986) was born in Yorkshire in 1898, Henry Moore is considered one of the most important and influential sculptors of the 20th century. He is best known for his monumental bronzes but he also made carvings, drawings, prints and designed textiles and tapestries. Although Moore knew he teacher, before serving in the British Army during the First World War. In 1919, thanks to an ex-serviceman’s grant, he was able to realise his ambition to become an artist, enrolling at the Leeds School of Art and later the Royal College of Art in London.  Studying the art of the past and that of his contemporaries, Moore developed his own individual style, deeply influenced by natural forms and the human figure, and, by the 1930s, he was considered amongst the leading avant-garde sculptors in Europe. Moore’s work became increasingly abstract, often dictated by the materials he carved. However, the advent of the Second World War forced him to concentrate on drawing, and he shifted his focus to more recognisable human subjects, documenting figures sheltering in the London Underground during the Blitz.

Post-war, Moore began creating increasingly large-scale sculpture, completing a number of important public commissions around the world, many of which are now considered iconic landmarks. His international reputation grew exponentially during the 1940s and 1950s, and he was given a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1946, and represented Britain at the 1948 Venice Biennale, where he was awarded the International Prize for Sculpture.  Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, even as new types of sculpture started to compete for attention with Moore’s bronzes, international demand for his work continued to grow. His success was such that in 1977, aged 79, he decided with his family to establish the Henry Moore Foundation, to encourage widespread enjoyment and opportunity in the arts, particularly sculpture. It is one of the most important art foundations in Europe.

Today Moore’s work can be found in most major collections around the world, including the Tate Gallery, London, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, the Stedlijk Museum, Amsterdam, and the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Moore received numerous honours and accolades throughout his career, including the Order of Merit from Queen Elizabeth II, who also appointed him a Companion of Honour. Moore died at his home in Hertfordshire in 1986.