Moore explained that from the 1920s to 1930s he made his sculptures from single pieces of wood or stone: "I am by nature a stone-carving sculptor, not a modeling sculptor. I like chopping and cutting things, rather than building up. I like the resistance of hard material." The compact, blocklike forms of this sculpture are highly abstract, yet its biomorphic shapes and configurations also suggest human anatomy. For example, the mound in the upper center of the sculpture, incised with a small circle, resembles both a breast and a navel.
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the artist (1937–54; sold on April 22, 1954 to Valentin); [Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, 1954–55; sold in 1955 to Martha Jackson]; [Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, 1955–59; sold on August 10, 1959 to Knoedler and Galerie des Arts Anciens et Modernes]; [M. Knoedler & Co., New York in half-shares with Galerie des Arts Anciens et Modernes, Schaan, Liechtenstein, 1959; stock no. A7294; sold on October 26, 1959, as "Abstract Sculpture," to Winston]; Lydia and Harry Lewis Winston, Birmingham, Mich. (1959–his d. 1966); Lydia Winston Malbin, Detroit and New York (1966–d. 1989; her bequest to MMA)
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. "Exposition Henry Moore: Sculptures-Dessins," October 1949, no. 32 (as "Sculpture," lent by Henry Moore).
Paris. Musée National d'Art Moderne. "Henry Moore," November 18–December 31, 1949, no. 32 (as "Sculpture," lent by the artist).
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. "Henry Moore," January 12–February 25, 1950, no. 32 (as "Sculptuur," lent by Henry Moore).
Hamburger Kunsthalle. "Henry Moore," March 1950, no. 32 (as "Plastik," lent by the artist).
Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. "Henry Moore," April 30–May 29, 1950, no. 32 (as "Plastik," lent by the artist).
Kunsthalle Bern. "Henry Moore," June 10–July 16, 1950, no. 32 (as "Plastik," lent by the artist).
Athens. Zappeion Exhibition Hall. "Henry Moore," March 3–25, 1951, no. 11 (lent by the artist).
Riksförbundent för Bildande Konst, Stockholm. "Henry Moore: Skulpturer och Teckningar," 1952, no. 11 (as "Skulptur," lent by the artist).
Rotterdam. Museum Boymans. "Henry Moore," May 30–July 12, 1953, no. 12 (as "Sculptuur," lent by Henry Moore).
Madrid. Palacio de Velázquez. "Henry Moore: Sculptures, Drawings, Graphics 1921–1981," May–August 1981, no. 117 (as "Sculpture," lent by a private collection).
Barcelona. Fundació Caixa Catalunya. "Henry Moore," July 19–October 29, 2006, unnumbered cat. (p. 99; as "Escultura").
Toronto. Art Gallery of Ontario. "Henry Moore," October 23, 2010–February 6, 2011, no. 68.
Herbert Read. Henry Moore: Sculpture and Drawings. New York, 1944, pp. x, xvi, pls. 53b, 54, calls it "Sculpture" and locates it in the collection of the artist.
James Johnson Sweeney. Henry Moore. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, [1946], ill. p. 45, calls it "Sculpture" and locates it in the collection of the artist.
Carola Giedion-Welcker. Contemporary Sculpture: An Evolution in Volume and Space. New York, 1955, ill. pp. 130, 131, calls it "Sculpture" and locates it in the collection of the artist.
David Sylvester, ed. Henry Moore: Sculpture and Drawings. Vol. 1, 1921–1948. (4th revised ed.; 1st ed. 1944). London, 1957, p. 11, no. 179, ill. p. 106, calls it "Sculpture" and locates it in the collection of the Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Joshua C. Taylor. "Harry Lewis Winston, Birmingham, Michigan: Futurist and Other Twentieth-Century Art." Great Private Collections. Ed. Douglas Cooper. New York, 1963, ill. p. 298, callls it "Abstract Sculpture".
Herbert Read. Henry Moore: A Study of His Life and Work. New York, 1966, pp. 116, 271, pl. 92, calls it "Sculpture" and locates it still in the collection of the Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Robert Melville. Henry Moore: Sculpture and Drawings 1921–1969. New York, [1970], p. 345, pl. 160, calls it "Sculpture" and locates it in a private collection.
Linda Shearer and Marianne W. Martin. Futurism: A Modern Focus. The Lydia and Harry Lewis Winston Collection. Dr. and Mrs. Barnett Malbin. Exh. cat., Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. New York, 1973, pp. 142, 240, no. 70, ill. p. 143.
Hilton Kramer. "Futurism, Suprematism and Other Classics In Two Shows That Illuminate One Another." New York Times (November 25, 1973), p. 179.
Edward H. Teague. Henry Moore: Bibliography and Reproductions Index. Jefferson, N.C., 1981, p. 146, calls it "Sculpture".
David Sylvester, ed. Henry Moore: Complete Sculpture. Vol. 1, Sculpture 1921–48. 5th ed. (1st ed., 1944). London, 1988, p. 11, no. 179, ill. p. 106, calls it "Sculpture" and locates it still in the collection of the Martha Jackson Gallery, New York.
Lisa M. Messinger in "Recent Acquisitions. A Selection: 1989–1990." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 48 (Fall 1990), p. 70, ill.
Barbara Burn, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd rev. ed. (1st ed., 1983). New York, 1994, p. 456, no. 43, ill.
Chris Stephens inHenry Moore. Ed. Chris Stephens. Exh. cat., Tate Britain. London, 2010, pp. 15–16, 212, no. 68, ill. p. 145 (color).
Lyndsey Stonebridge inHenry Moore. Ed. Chris Stephens. Exh. cat., Tate Britain. London, 2010, p. 46.
Henry Moore Foundation. Henry Moore Artwork Catalogue. Online resource [catalogue.henry-moore.org], 2021 (accessed), no. LH 179, ill. (bw and color), calls it "Sculpture".
Henry Moore (British, Castleford 1898–1986 Much Hadham)
1949
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