MODERN BRITISH: Henry Moore

Henry Moore (1898-1986) is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century and from the late 1940s until his death was recognised as the most celebrated British artist of his time. He served in the First World War, after which he trained at Leeds School of Art before gaining a scholarship to the Royal College of Art. In the 1930s he taught in London but in 1940 he moved to Hertfordshire where he lived for the rest of his life.

By the 1930s Moore was already recognized as the leading avant-garde sculptor in England but it was his war drawings of people sheltering from air raids that brought him to the attention of the British public. His wider reputation became assured in 1948 when he won the International Sculpture Prize at the Venice Biennale.

Reclining figure
1977
Bronze, green patina
Size: 8.3 x 5in/21 x 10.7cm.
Number 6 in a edition of 9