Henry Moore (1898-1986)

Mother and Child

Details

Henry Moore (1898-1986)
Mother and Child
bronze with brown patina
20in. (51.3cm.) high
Conceived in 1953 and executed in an edition of seven plus one extra cast, which is in the Tate Gallery, London

Provenance

Acquired from the artist by the father of the present owner in the 1950s, through Gustav Kahnweiler

Literature

ed. A. Bowness, Henry Moore, Complete Sculpture, vol. 2, Sculpture 1949-54, London 1986, no. 315 (another cast illustrated p. 83).
F. Russoli & D. Mitchinson, Henry Moore Sculpture with Comments by the Artist, Barcelona 1988, no. 27 (another cast illustrated p. 115).

Lot Essay

The birth of Moore's child Mary renewed the theme of Mother and Child which had been a recurrent motif in his work from the 1920s. This sculpture is one of the most striking and unusual examples of this theme and prompted many interpretations. Indeed, in Roger Berthoud's The Life of Henry Moore (London 1987, p. 198) it is suggested that "Moore was alarmed at the sight of Mary feeding at Irina's breast. Within the family the bronze mother came to be known as Nora, since whenever someone asked the sculptor whether the child was trying to devour her, Henry would say: 'No, gnaw her.'"

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