Exhibition at sculptor’s former home features rarely seen works

CARVING A NAME: HENRY MOORE’S ARTISTIC INFLUENCES

HENRY MOORE’S first surviving commission is going on display in a new exhibition on the late artist.

Becoming Henry Moore tracks the influences guiding the work of the famous British sculptor, who died aged 88 in 1986, during his formative years.

Visitors to Henry Moore Studios and Gardens will see rarely seen work by Moore from his days as a student in both Yorkshire and London.

His earliest surviving commission is a First World War roll of honour for his secondary school in Castleford, West Yorkshire, which was completed when Moore was just 17. Moore’s famous Reclining Figure (1929) will also go on display. Moore’s work from the period 1914 to 1940 is shown alongside that of artists who inspired him, including Picasso, Michelangelo and Rodin. Henry Moore Studios and Gardens have been redeveloped, at the site of Moore’s former home in Hertfordshire, with a new visitor centre and archive. Godfrey Worsdale, director of the Henry Moore Foundation, said the Yorkshire artist continues to inspire. He said: “When Moore decided to establish the foundation, at the height of his success, he gave his own extraordinary gift.

“Forty years on, the foundation continues to support artists, inspire visitors and promote the enjoyment of sculpture.”

The exhibition also opens at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds in November.

Becoming Henry Moore runs from April 14 to October 22 at Henry Moore Studios and Gardens.

ON DISPLAY: An employee looks at the sculptor’s Reclining Figure at the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens and, inset, Standing Woman.

YOUNG ARTIST: Henry Moore’s earliest surviving commission, a roll of honour for his secondary school in Castleford, West Yorkshire.