Henry Moore, O.M., C.H.

Marlborough Godard Gallery, Montreal
Acquired from the above by Beverley Webster Rolph, Montreal circa 1970, and thence by descent to the present owners

London, Marlborough Fine Art, International Sculpture, 1991, (another cast).

John Hedgecoe and Henry Moore, Henry Moore, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1968, p.176, illustrated no.4 (another cast; plaster version illustrated pp.163 and 269, dated 1944);
G. di San Lazzaro, 'Homage a Henry Moore', XX Siecle, Paris, and Zwemmer, London, 1972, illustrated p. 45 (terracotta version);
Alan Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore: Sculptures and Drawings 1964-73, London, 1977, vol. 4, illustrated pl.A (terracotta version);
B. von Erich Steingrber, 'Henry Moore Maquetten,' Pantheon, 1978, p.24, illustrated fig.23 (terracotta version);
David Mitchinson, Henry Moore Sculpture (with Comments by the Artist), Macmillan, London, 1981, no.174, illustrated p.94 (another cast);
Roger Berthoud, The Life of Henry Moore, Giles de la Mare, London, 1987, illustrated fig.88 (terracotta version);
David Sylvester (ed.), Henry Moore, Complete Sculpture 1921-48, Lund Humphries, London, 1988, vol.1, p.15, LH 238;
John Hedgecoe, A Monumental Vision, The Sculpture of Henry Moore, Collins & Brown, London, 1998, p.210, no.239, illustrated p.211 (another cast).

Structurally sound. There is very minor surface dirt and dust to the work. The surface of the piece appears to have an applied wax patina. There are areas where this finish has flaked slightly, including the back knee of the seated woman, and the back left hand side of the standing male figure and to the back left corner of the seated block. This excepting the work appears in very good overall condition. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present lot.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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The Family Groups are one of Moore's most important subjects and, with only one exception, were made during the brief period of 1944-48.  Of the seventeen versions on the theme, fifteen are small maquettes varying in size from five to eight inches and two are of a larger scale.

The concept itself developed over several years, as Moore explains: 'The idea of the family group crystallised before the war. Henry Morris, the Director of Education for Cambridgeshire, asked me to do a sculpture for the Impington Village College, the first of the modern schools in England. It had been designed by Walter Gropius. As the College was going to be used for adult education as well, the idea of connecting parents and children came into my mind. I think that the first family group drawings and maquettes were done in 1935-6, although I didn't actually make the full-size sculpture until later' (quoted in J. Hedgecoe, op. cit., p.163).

Although the project was never realised due to lack of funding, the artist carried on exploring this theme in numerous drawings, most of them made in bomb shelters in London during World War II. The theme represents the mood of the country following the war: a close knit group, morally upholding the re-birth of a nation following the ravages of the early 1940s. The series reflected both Moore's wish for peace and harmony in the post-war world and his expression of happiness prior to the birth of his daughter Mary. The artist said of this series: 'The family group ideas were all generated by drawings: and that was perhaps because the whole family group idea was so close to one as a person; we were just going to have our first child Mary, and it was an obsession' (quoted in Julie Summers, Henry Moore: From the Inside Out, Munich, 1996).

Discussing this important series in the context of the artist's œuvre, Will Grohmann wrote: 'With the Family Group theme Moore regained his freedom since the commissions received were less restricting. He started working on these groups at about the same time as the Madonna. In the years 1944 to 1947 he produced a number of larger and smaller variations in stone, bronze and terracotta, differing considerably from one another, being both naturalistic and non-naturalistic, though never as abstract as the Reclining Figures. The theme does not hem him in, but demands a certain readiness to enter into the meaning of a community such as a family' (Will Grohmann, Henry Moore, London, 1960, p.141). In the present work Moore depicted the figures reaching towards each other, emphasising the sense of community and closeness.

The previous owner of the present work, Beverley Webster Rolph was an eminent Canadian collector. She visited Henry Moore’s Studio at Perry Green in 1970, and acquired the piece shortly thereafter as the sculpture reminded her of her own family.