Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads

Henry Moore Studios & Gardens in Hertfordshire is currently closed for winter, reopening in April 2025.

Henry Moore Institute in Leeds will be closed over Christmas from 23 to 26 December and 30 December to 1 January (library and archive closed from 23 December to 1 January).

Navigate this page

This event has passed

Gallery shot showing several sculptures by Henry Moore, displayed on plinths. There are framed drawings on the walls behind.

Gallery shot showing a large, upright stone sculpture by Henry Moore. The outside is smooth and roughly ovaloid, and the interior has been carved to make the outer shell appear like it is holding and protecting a smaller form within.

Display cases filled with helmets from the Wallace Collection, from simple bronze helmets made in Ancient Greece to helmets used in World War I and II. A large photo of various medieval arms and armour is on the wall behind.

Abstract bronze sculpture fashioned in the style of a medieval helmet, with what could be a humanoid figure taking shelter inside.

Two side by side sketches of abstract armoured heads, appearing more alien or robotic than human.

A print by Henry Moore, featuring the corner of a helmet, with one eye showing through a slit, framed in the bottom-left corner.

A studio photo of a small plaster sculptural model of an abstract helmeted head.

A ground-breaking exhibition, revealing Henry Moore’s fascination with the armour at the Wallace Collection, and the inspiration behind his celebrated Helmet Head series.

“I spent many hours at the Wallace Collection looking at armour…”

Henry Moore, 1980

Curated in partnership with The Wallace Collection, Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads explores the great twentieth-century British sculptor’s fascination with armour. New research uncovers the role played by specific helmets and armour from the Wallace Collection in influencing Moore’s ideas and creations.

This exhibition marked the first time all of Moore’s helmet-related works were assembled comprehensively and displayed in juxtaposition with the Renaissance armour that inspired them.

Works in the exhibition

The exhibition featured over sixty sketches, drawings, maquettes and full-sized sculptures in plaster, lead and bronze from our collection.

View list of works in our online catalogue

Reviews

Review on The Times website

Review: Henry Moore: the Helmet Heads at the Wallace Collection, W1

🟊🟊🟊🟊☆

Review by Nancy Durrant

“All seven of the sculptor’s bronze Helmet Heads are shown together for the first time, plus lithographs that are as untypical as they are delightful.”

Read the full review in The Times

Review on The Telegraph website

Henry Moore: the Helmet Heads review, Wallace Collection – makes Moore seem exciting and fresh again

🟊🟊🟊🟊☆

Review by Alastair Smart

“Moore’s first experience of sculpture was, in a way, his first experience of armour.”

Read the full review in The Telegraph

Review on Time Out website

Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads review

🟊🟊🟊🟊☆

Review by Eddy Frankel

“Moore’s gorgeous ‘Helmet Heads’ are about an interior life that must be shielded. A battle between emotion and confidence, between inner truth and projected strength.”

Read the full review in Time Out

Review on Beshara Magazine website