Henry Moore O.M., C.H.

(British, 1898-1986)

Reclining Stringed Figure 25.5 cm. (10 in.) wide (excluding the base) Conceived in 1939 and cast in 1982

Footnotes

Provenance
With Alex Rosenberg Gallery, New York, 1984, where acquired by
Private Collection, U.S.A.
The Estate of E. Franklin Robbins, U.S.A.
Private Collection, Australia

Exhibited
New York, Alex Rosenberg Gallery, Henry Moore: Recent Work, Sculpture and Graphics and Drawing, 4 May-2 June 1984

Literature
Alan Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore: Volume 6, Complete Sculpture 1980-1986, The Henry Moore Foundation in association with Lund Humphries, Much Hadham & London, 1999, p.30, cat.no.199a (ill.b&w, another cast)


"From the very beginning the reclining figure has been my main theme" (Henry Moore, 1968)

During the late 1930s Moore's work veered away from the representational images of the reclining figure and began to incorporate the stringed element for the first time in twentieth century sculpture. Following a visit to the Science Museum in South Kensington where he had been intrigued by some of the mathematical models, Moore went on to make sixteen of these 'stringed figures' between 1937 and 1940 in wood, bronze and lead.

"Undoubtedly the source of my stringed figures was the Science Museum. Whilst a student at the R.C.A. I became involved in machine art, which in those days had its place in modern art. Although I was interested in the work of Léger, and the Futurists, who exploited mechanical forms, I was never directly influenced by machinery as such. Its interest for me lies in its capacity for movement, which, after all, is its function" (John Hedgecoe, Henry Spencer Moore, Thomas Nelson, 1968, p.105)

Moore first executed a beechwood sculpture incorporating string in 1937, titled Stringed Relief (LH182, Private Collection) and would continue to incorporate both string and wire in his work for the next two years. While it has been suggested that the work of Naum Gabo, who had arrived in Hampstead in 1935, was a major influence on the artist at the time, Moore's statement to Hedgecoe leaves no doubt as to the impetus of his inspiration. He goes on to explain:

"I was fascinated by the mathematical models I saw there, which had been made to illustrate the difference of the form that is half-way between a square and a circle. One model had a square stone end with twenty holes along each side making eighty holes in all. Through these holes strings were threaded and led to a circle with the same number of holes at the other end. A plane interposed through the middle shows the form that is halfway between a square and a circle. One end could also be twisted to produce forms that would be terribly difficult to draw on a flat surface. It wasn't the scientific study of these models but the ability to look through the strings as with a bird cage and to see one form within another which excited me" (Loc.Cit.). It was these mathematical configurations that prompted the artist to experiment with how string can show lines in space, acting as a barrier while nevertheless allowing the eye to see one form through another.

In the present example the taut string contrasts with the sinous curve of the cast metal giving movement and vitality to the figure. Several different groups of wire criss cross and intertwine with one another creating a visual play that provokes the viewers eye up and down, over and across the entire surface of the highly polished bronze.