Figure

Henry Moore’s seven-decade artistic career began with his early interest in non-Western art. Initially inspired by the African, Oceanic, and especially Pre-Columbian art that he saw at the British Museum in London, Moore, like Constantin Brâncusi, became a passionate proponent of direct carving, a technique that allowed the inherent qualities of materials to dictate a sculpture’s final form. In the 1930s, Moore merged his interest in non-Western art with aspects of abstraction and Surrealism, which he encountered during his regular trips to Paris. Works like Figure reveal Moore’s engagement with the organic, biomorphic forms used by contemporary Surrealist artists such as Jean Arp, Alberto Giacometti, and Joan Miró.