Rise to fame
Chapter 4
Following the end of the Second World War, Moore’s international reputation was cemented with landmark exhibitions and commissions at home and abroad.
Family
A few months after the war ended, in March 1946, Henry and Irina’s daughter Mary was born.
Now nearing 50, Moore delighted in fatherhood. His focus on one of his most enduring subjects, the mother and child theme, received a renewed vigour.
“…an artist uses experiences he’s had in life. Such an experience in my life was the birth of my daughter Mary, which re-invoked in my sculpture my Mother and Child theme. A new experience can bring to the surface something deep in one’s mind.”
Henry Moore, 1968
(As quoted in Henry Spencer Moore, photographed and edited by John Hedgecoe, 1968, p.173)
The Festival of Britain
In 1951, the Festival of Britain was organised by the Labour government to promote the arts, science and industry and to further encourage optimism after the war.
Many contemporary artists were commissioned to make work. Moore was given a prominent position at the centre of the festival on the South Bank of the River Thames.
Although he had been asked for a family group, Moore instead provided Reclining Figure: Festival. He said: “I think this is the first sculpture in which I succeeded in making form and space sculpturally inseparable.”
To coincide with the festival, John Read produced a documentary titled Henry Moore for the BBC, making Moore the first ever living artist to be the subject of a film.
In the same year, Moore had his first retrospective at Tate in London.
Venice Biennale
Moore represented Britain at the 24th Venice Biennale in 1948, where he was awarded the International Sculpture Prize. His sculpture was seen to represent the optimistic, humanist values embodied in modernism and opposed to Fascism.
In 1952, Moore was once again represented at the Venice Biennale.
On this occasion the British Council presented the work of a new group of emerging sculptors, but installed Moore’s Double Standing Figure of 1950 at the entrance to the British Pavilion. Moore was positioned as the forefather to the younger artists.
At the same time, the Venice display highlighted a desire among the younger generation to escape the shadow of Moore and develop a new aesthetic. The group became known as the ‘Geometry of Fear’ artists after Herbert Read’s description of their work in a catalogue essay accompanying the exhibition. Their style was defined by welded spiky forms, which directly opposed the fluid curves characteristic of Moore’s sculptures.
New Towns
Moore’s numerous commissions meant that his work became an icon for post-war Britain.
The Labour government’s New Towns Act of 1946 planned an ambitious programme for building 11 new towns in the UK. Moore’s Family Group, 1948-49 and Harlow Family Group, 1954-55 were commissioned for the New Towns of Stevenage and Harlow.
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Explore an interactive timeline of Henry Moore’s life, featuring important artworks and exhibitions, biographical information and life events, and Moore’s interactions with other artists.