Henry Moore - Threads of Influence

A touring exhibition from the Sainsbury Centre, Henry Moore: Threads of Influence spans Henry Moore’s career, from early life drawings and carvings to iconic drawings and late prints and demonstrates the multiple facets of Moore’s practice. A range of related objects will illuminate Moore’s work in a new way, demonstrating how disparate cultures and contexts informed him. Two drawings from the Cooper Gallery’s own collection will also feature in the displays.

The exhibition explores Moore’s influences over the years, from artists such as Henri Gaudier, Brzeska and Jacob Epstein to ancient sculpture from Mexico and beyond. 

Key objects are two early life drawings of Moore’s wife, Irina, and demonstrate how Moore’s commitment to studying the human form laid the foundations for his ongoing sculptural practice. Sculptural Object in Landscape (1939) and Reclining Figures for Metal Sculpture (1940) portray how Moore was conceiving monumental sculpture before he had the means to achieve this vast scale in three dimensions. The exhibition includes four Shelter Drawings inspired by the scenes in the London Underground during the Blitz. As an Official War Artist, Moore’s drawings of the subject were displayed at the National Gallery during the War, and they propelled him to fame before his sculpture was widely known.

This exhibition has been made possible as a result of the Government Indemnity Scheme. Barnsley Museums would like to thank HM Government for providing Government Indemnity and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England for arranging the indemnity.

Image: Family Group, 1945 Henry Moore, object number 98, Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia. ©The Henry Moore Foundation