Stringed Mother and Child

Conceived in 1938 and cast in bronze in 1985, Mother and Child is a striking example of Henry Moore’s innovative exploration of organic form and spatial tension. The sculpture embodies his radical use of negative space, in which voids are treated as active elements equal to mass, while the introduction of string creates a dynamic interplay between structure and line. The supple, rounded bronze form is set in deliberate contrast to the taut, linear string—the vivid red hue stands out against the dark patina, heightening both visual and conceptual tension.
Moore’s use of string originated during his studies at the Royal College of Art, when frequent visits to the Science Museum exposed him to scientific models demonstrating mathematical principles and geometric transformations. He was particularly captivated by how tensioned threads could articulate volume and space, an effect he translated into sculptural terms to expand the expressive possibilities of form.
Mother and Child relates closely to a unique variant executed in lead with yellow string (LH 186 cast b), now in the collection of the Henry Moore Foundation. Despite the intimate scale, Moore introduces a remarkable sense of monumentality into the form—a tribute to his ability to concentrate formal concerns into a compact, highly resolved composition on any scale.