NARRATOR:
Throughout his career, Henry Moore was deeply concerned with the reclining female body and the relationship between figure and landscape:
MOORE [ACTOR]:
“The observation of nature is part of an artist’s life, keeps him fresh and from working only by formula, and feeds inspiration. The human figure is what interests me most deeply, but I have found principles of form and rhythm from the study of natural objects like pebbles, rocks, bones, trees, plants.”
NARRATOR:
In Reclining Figure No. 9 from 1968, Moore reduces human form to its barest minimum. Notice the simple protrusion of a head and shoulder on the right, the cavity of a chest or belly in the center, and the pointed shapes of two legs coming down on the left. He pulls the individual forms apart and lays them out horizontally—like an assembly of natural elements shaped by the action of wind and water.
Following the path to your right, you’ll find another reclining figure by Moore, made about ten years earlier. Here, it’s easier to make out the human form. Notice the subtle transitions from one shape to the next, as the fragmented figure twists to face the sky. Universal shapes speak to all of us, he said, and we can respond to them if our conscious mind does not get in the way.
Two-Piece Reclining Figure No. 9
1968
Henry Moore (English, 1898-1986)
On View
Henry Moore is widely considered to be the greatest sculptor of the twentieth century. He entered art school at the end of his service in World War I, and was keenly sensitive to the influence of modern and ancient sculptural traditions, especially the figures of Pre-Columbian Mexico. His mature style emerged during the 1930s while he was a young member of the Surrealist circle in England. In the years following World War II he gained an international reputation with his monumental outdoor figurative works. His "Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 9" exemplifies Moore's belief that more abstract forms could possess great spiritual vitality: "In this way I can present the human psychological content of my work with the greatest directness and intensity."
Details
- Artist Name: Henry Moore (English, 1898-1986)
- Title: Two-Piece Reclining Figure No. 9
- Date: 1968
- Medium: Bronze
- Edition: Edition of 7, Cast No. 2
- Dimensions: 56 1/2 x 96 x 52 in. (143.5 x 243.8 x 132.1 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation
- Accession Number: M.1970.4.1.S
- Copyright: © The Henry Moore Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Object Information
Recent Acquisitions of the Norton Simon, Inc. Museum
- Richmond, Virginia, Museum of Fine Arts, 1970-06-02 to 1972-04-20
Henry Moore in Southern California
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1973-10-02 to 1973-11-18
Henry Moore Fifteen Bronzes: From the Collections of the Norton Simon Foundation and the Norton Simon, Inc. Museum of Art
- New Orleans, New Orleans Museum of Art, 1973-12-03 to 1974-10-23
- Sculpture Garden, Norton Simon Museum, no. 17
- Henry Moore Fifteen Bronzes: from the Collections of the Norton Simon Foundation and the Norton Simon, Inc. Museum of Art, 1974, no. 15
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 731 p. 332
Additional Artwork by Artist
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