Famous Artist Firday - HenryMoore

Famous Artist Friday

Henry Moore 

This weeks post is coming to you a little late,

because I am with my husband in Lexington, KY 

set up to sell his jellies, syrups, vinegars and pickles.

 He grows all the fruits, vegetables and herbs used to make these products, and then he makes the products.

So any way, let's get on with our Famous Artist Friday,

Henry Moore.

Henry Moore is a sculptor who is considered one of the most significant British artists of the 20th century.  He was born in Castleford 1898 and died in 1986.  He was one of 8 children born into a miners family.

Moore showed interest and ability in art as a child but was encouraged to go into teaching.  Moore evidently complied but hated teaching so much that after a year he joined the military and served during WWI. 

He was injured in 1917 in a gas attack.   He also served during WWII as a war artist and produced his now famous drawings of people sheltering in the London Underground during the Blitz. 

In 1919 Moore received and ex-serviceman's grant and went to study at Leed's School of Art and went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London.  As a teacher there he later met and married Irina Redetsky, herself a painter.

Moore was a rising star in the art world for his avant garde pieces, but the Royal College of Art was not a fan and in 1931 they wrote a scathing review of him and his work which caused him to resign from the college and accept a new position of head of sculpture at the Chelsea School of Art. 

The Moore's London flat was bombed in 1941 during WWII and it was then they moved to Perry Green where they remained the rest of their lives.

 I chose Henry Moore as the subject of Famous Artist Friday because of this quote.

To me it was very thought provoking and something I have pondered on repeatedly.

What about being an artist testifies of life?

To me learning to see and pondering on what I see is evidence to his statement.  When you really look deeply at seeing color and shape and relationships between objects and the effect they have on other objects,

it does testify of life and it's beauty.

That we are connected even to those things which seem inanimate.

Moore's sculpture is minimalist in that he takes away as much detail as possible.  Even his figures look very abstract and he has figures that are in several pieces.  Upon first glance you might think a piece is abstract but after studying it for a while, you realize it actually is something else entirely.

This was created in 1931 and I'm pretty sure it really was very for lack of a better word, shocking to the sculpture world.

I personally love the smoothness of it and would be hard pressed to keep my hands off it if I were to see it in public.

 Like most paintings, they are meant to be viewed by a distance of about 6 feet.  I noticed when I looked at this piece the first time on my computer it was very large, but when I shrunk it down a little it was easier to view, to understand, to enjoy.

 

 This is what Moore's studio looked like at his death in 1986.

He was surrounded by inspiration he gained from bones, rocks, wood, shells and stones.  He also had bits and pieces of work near him as well. 

You can see in Moore's work the inspiration he gained from skulls and other bones and other natural substances.  

It's interesting to me that Moore's work often is very smooth and devoid of detail and very simplistic and yet his work area appears to you and I as total chaos.

My studio gets somewhat cluttery, but I am not good when I can't find things and have to stop and look for this or that.  

I am not a connoisseur of sculpture and I don't know the names of many sculptors, unless perhaps they are also painters.  As I said, I selected Moore because I liked his quote, and then after I researched him I began to appreciate and enjoy his work.

I hope you have also enjoyed his work and feel that you got a glimpse of the man behind the sculpture.

If you'd like to read or see more of his work or life, click HERE.

The above link is to the Henry Moore website.  They have lots of great photos of his work and the legacy he has left to educate artists.

Another source I enjoyed was Tate which had great slide shows of his work and interesting information.  Click HERE to view that website.

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I'd love to hear what you think of Henry Moore in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great one.