Textile Design

Details

Henry Moore, O.M., C.H. (1898-1986)
Textile Design
signed and dated 'Moore/42' (lower right)
watercolour and wax crayon
16 x 20 in. (40.7 x 50.8 cm.)

Literature

A. Garrould (ed.), Henry Moore Complete Drawings 1940-49, III, Aldershot, 2003, p. 189, no. AG 43.77, HMF 2155b, illustrated.

Exhibited

London, The Mall Galleries, The Heatherley School of Fine Art 150th Anniversary Exhibition, February - March 1996, no. 136.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Zika Ascher came to England from Prague in 1939 and in 1942 he established his own production company and silk-screen printers in London with his wife Lida. 'Moore ... was asked to collaborate in a printing project to help revitalise that most important article of wartime style, the headscarf. Moore filled three sketchbooks with ideas and, in addition to producing two headscarf designs, collaborated with Ascher in the making of four wall panels and at least 20 dressmaking fabrics' (see Exhibition catalogue, Henry Moore War and Utility, Imperial War Museum, London, 2006, p. 15). In addition to Moore, the Aschers commissioned other leading artists, such as Matisse, Derain, Sutherland, Piper and others to design extraordinary fabrics for them, including in 1946 a collection of headscarves intended to brighten up the dull post-war British wardrobe.

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