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

Denis Hotz Gallery, Johannesburg, whence acquired by the present owner's father

Henry Moore, exhibition catalogue, The Goodman Gallery, South Africa, 1981, no.26, illustrated (another cast);
Alan Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore, Complete Sculpture, 1980-86, Lund Humphries, London, 2005, vol.6, no.808, p.40, illustrated p.41 (another cast). 

Dirt has gathered in some of the crevices but otherwise the work is in good overall condition. Presented on a black wooden base. Please telephone the department on 020 7293 5381 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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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Conceived in 1980 and cast in an edition of nine. The present work is a study for the monumental bronze, Reclining Woman: Elbow.

Whilst the reclining figures of the early 1930s are monumental in character, drawing on ancient and renaissance sources as varied as the Tolmec-Mayan Chacmool (Coll. Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico) and Michelangelo's Dawn and Night (Medici Chapel, Florence), Moore's growing abstraction throughout the decade saw the sculptures evolve in ways that used the possibilities of the form and its inherent asymmetry. The gentle undulations of Reclining Figure 1934-5 (LH 155) combine the form into an almost fully abstracted carving, and by Reclining Figure 1937 (LH 178) this process has become almost complete, the sculpture taking on a surreal bone-like quality. However, as Moore began to carve through his sculptures and open up spaces and voids within, the ability to return to a more figurative yet abstracted form was realised. The magnificent Recumbent Figure 1938 (LH 191) originally carved for the terrace of Serge Chermayeff's Sussex home, Bentley Wood, is a tour de force of poise and balance, and in other large scale carvings of the period Moore repeatedly explores the possibilities of the subject.

The reclining figure has become one of the most constant themes in Moore's sculptural output, stretching across almost his entire career and as such it is a form that goes through numerous transformations and variations but never wavering in its strength, power and appeal.