Vitality: The Human Landscapes of Henry Moore
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens will reopen to the public for the 2023 season from 5 April – 29 October and will present Vitality: The Human Landscapes of Henry Moore. The outdoor exhibition will explore nature and the human body as sources of vitality and expressions of life force, which Henry Moore could harness in his work, uniting and concentrating their vital energy.
The exhibition will include Reclining Connected Forms 1969, which was last on show at Henry Moore Studios and Gardens in 2010. Several of the permanent pieces will be repositioned, offering visitors a new experience of the site. The exhibition will coincide with the 125th anniversary of Henry Moore’s birth in 2023.
Although Moore’s forms often appear abstract, he was fundamentally a figurative artist – the human body remained his core concern throughout his life. In his maquette studio, he surrounded himself with natural forms – bones, stones, shells and driftwood – which he transformed into figures through the addition of clay, plasticine and plaster. When he enlarged these works and placed them outside, the rise and fall of the body – knees, breasts, and shoulders – echoed the forms of the land.
In 2023, more than twenty monumental bronzes inspired by natural and human forms are on display in the landscape surrounding the studios where Moore developed ideas. Multi-part reclining figures are joined by some of his purest organic abstractions and works exploring his most iconic themes, the mother and child, the reclining figure, and the juxtaposition of internal and external forms.
“125 years on since Henry Moore’s birth it seems appropriate to consider vitality. Vitality was a word often used by Moore to describe a quality he hoped to embody in his art. He used the term to describe an animating force or power. He drew on all of his experiences of art, landscape, the human body, hope and fear, and channelled them into expressive works, which he hoped we would connect directly with our own. His empathy coupled with his intense interest in all forms charges abstract organic shapes with meaning. Their significance seems heightened by their placement here in the landscape in which they were created.”
Dr. Hannah Higham, Senior Curator of Collections & Research
New tickets for 2023
Responding to the current financial climate, Henry Moore Studios & Gardens is delighted to introduce a new annual ticket that allows all visitors the opportunity to enjoy the 70 acres of studios, home and gardens as many times as they wish in the year following their visit.
Tickets are valid for 12 calendar months and can be used an unlimited number of times during open seasons.
- Adult admission £16.50
- Family tickets from £30
“As the cost of living crisis continues across the UK, many potential visitors will be on the lookout for more affordable activities. Our ambition is to enable and encourage more people to visit, enjoy the Studios & Gardens and discover Henry Moore. With this in mind we have taken the decision not to increase the ticket price regardless of the added value of multiple visits.”
Lesley Wake, Chief Operating Officer at the Henry Moore Foundation
Introducing Henry Moore Studios & Gardens Bloomberg Connects App
Explore Henry Moore Studios & Gardens in a new way with our free audio-visual guide on Bloomberg Connects, the arts and culture app.
Discover rarely seen photos, in-depth audio guides, stories and video content offering fascinating insights into Henry Moore’s artistic practices, the development of his famous sculptures and his life in the English hamlet of Perry Green.
There are also opportunities to find out more about the Henry Moore Shop, our touring programme, plus you can subscribe to our newsletter and connect with us on social media.
Start exploring our guide anytime, anywhere. Download the app to your mobile device, and search for or scroll to ‘Henry Moore Studios & Gardens’ to get started.
For further information, images, or to arrange a visit please contact
Alison Parry, Marketing & Communications Manager
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens
alison.parry@henry-moore.org
Emily Dodgson, Head of Marketing & Communications
Henry Moore Foundation
emily.dodgson@henry-moore.org
Sophie Balfour-Lynn, Senior Account Manager
Sutton PR
SophieBL@suttoncommunications.com
Notes to Editors
About Henry Moore Studios & Gardens
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens is the former home and work-place of sculptor Henry Moore (1898-1986). From 1940 until his death in 1986, Moore lived and worked in rural Hertfordshire where he acquired over 60 acres of land and set up various studios, creating the ideal environment in which he could make and display his work and cater to an international demand for exhibitions.
Now open to the public, Henry Moore Studios & Gardens offers a unique insight into the artist’s working practice and showcases a large selection of Moore’s renowned monumental sculptures in the landscape in which they were created.
We also present annually changing exhibitions, which further illuminate the life and work of the sculptor, and are home to the Henry Moore Archive, one of the largest single-artist archives in the world.
Our visitor season runs from 5 April to 29 October 2023
We are open Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holidays, 11:00–17:00
About the Henry Moore Foundation
The Henry Moore Foundation was founded by the artist and his family in 1977 to encourage public appreciation of the visual arts.
Today we support innovative sculpture projects, devise an imaginative programme of exhibitions and research worldwide, and preserve the legacy of Moore himself: one of the great sculptors of the 20th century, who did so much to bring the art form to a wider audience.
We run two venues, in Leeds and Hertfordshire, showing a mix of Moore’s own work and other sculpture.
We also fund a variety of sculpture projects through our Henry Moore Grants and Research programmes and we have a world-class collection of artworks which regularly tour both nationally and internationally.
A registered charity, we award grants to arts organisations around the world, with a mission to bring great sculpture to as many people as possible.