Henry MOORE Reclining Figure V 1977/78 From the portfolio Reclining Figures Etching Image: 9 x 12 inches Sheet: 20.5 x 17.5 Edition of 25 ©1977/78 Henry Moore   Henry Moore was born on July 30, 1898, and despite an early desire to become a sculptor, Moore began his career as a teacher in Castleford, the town where he was born. Teaching was followed by military service and in turn, an ex-serviceman's grant to attend the Leeds School of Art and then the Royal Academy of Art. A scholarship allowed Moore to travel to Italy where he was inspired by the works of Giotto, Masaccio, and Michelangelo. In 1940 Moore was appointed an official war artist and was commissioned to execute drawings depicting underground bomb shelter living, and in the few years that followed he concentrated almost entirely on drawing. Though sculpture was Moore's primary interest, he created a substantial amount of drawings and graphics especially during the second half of his life. His earliest prints were linocuts made in the 1930s, but it was not until 1950 that he produced the first of his major portfolios. Thereafter he continued to make both lithographs and etchings regularly, often using several plates in one composition. The best of his graphics were for portfolios; in these one can sense a concentration of creative energy. When examining Moore's body of prints there is a diversity of imagery with constant exploration into his most familiar themes, the reclining figure and the subject of mother and child. The work of Henry Moore is included in numerous collections worldwide including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Arts Council of Great Britain, London, England; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland; Contemporary Art Museum, Hiroshima, Japan; Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland; and Tate Britain, London, England. Bird Motif 1967 From the portfolio Meditations on the Effigy Litograph Image: 11 x 9.5 inches Sheet: 31 x 22.5 inches Edition of 50 ©1967 Henry Moore Motif in Red, Blue and Yellow 1966 From the portfolio Meditations on the Effigy Litograph Image: 13 x 11.25 inches Sheet: 31 x 22.5 inches Edition of 50 ©1966 Henry Moore HOME