Henry Moore: Sculpting From Nature is a new and unique exhibition that will feature over 50 artworks by Henry Moore (1898-1986), perceived by many as the greatest British sculptor of the 20^th century. The show will include drawings, maquettes, working models and monumental sculptures, plus prints and studio materials, lent by the Henry Moore Foundation, the charitable trust set up by Moore and his family in 1977.

Henry Moore’s ‘Library of Natural Forms’

Henry Moore was inspired by the natural world that surrounded him. Moore’s childhood memories of exploring the Yorkshire dales and playing on coal slagheaps contributed to his appreciation of both the rural English countryside and its juxtaposition with industrial Britain.  From a young age, Moore collected natural or ‘found’ objects including bones, skulls, flint stones, driftwood and shells which he kept in an orderly ‘library of natural forms’. The exhibition will showcase how these organic shapes were repeatedly used by Moore, even in the creation of some of his most iconic figurative work.

Henry Moore used this ‘library of natural forms’ to inform and inspire his transformative working process which involved many stages, often not following a linear pattern. A single flint might inspire a series of sketches, or else be incorporated into a maquette through the addition of plasticine. ‘Sculpting from Nature’, will give visitors new insight into Moore’s methods by displaying finished works alongside over 100 of the found objects that inspired them, and the various working models that demonstrate how his sculptural ideas evolved.