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

Acquired by the grandfather of the present owner, and thence by descent

David Sylvester (ed.), Henry Moore: Sculptures and Drawings 1921 - 1948, Vol. I, New York, 1957, cat. no.216, illustrated p.138 (terracotta version);
Ional Jianou, Henry Moore, Paris, 1968, cat. no.203, illustrated (another cast);
Testo di David Mitchinson (ed.), Henry Moore: Sculpture, London, 1981, cat. no.159, illustrated p.91 (another cast);
Anita Feldman & Malcolm Woodward, Henry Moore Plasters, London, 2011, cat. no.17, illustrated p.17 (teracotta version).

Structurally sound. There is minor surface dirt and dust to the crevices. There is minor ware visible to the patina, including to both knees of the mother figure and her back, as well as the edge of the seat upon which she sits. There are also very minor possible spots of isolated oxidisation including to the area where the figure meets the bench, although the patina makes this difficult to determine. This excepting the work appears to be in very good condition. Fitted with a small wooden base. 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

“When I was first asked to carve a Madonna and Child for St Matthew’s, although I was very interested I wasn’t sure whether I could do it, or whether I even wanted to … I felt it was not a commission straightaway and light-heartedly to agree to undertake, and I could only promise to make notebook drawings from which I would do small clay models, and only then should I be able to say whether I could produce something which would be satisfactory as sculpture and also satisfy my idea of the Madonna and Child as well …” (Moore, quoted in Church of St. Matthew’s, Northampton, 1893-1943, St. Matthew’s Church, Northampton, 1943)

The question of religious commissions troubled Moore throughout his career, leading him to accept only two formal religious commissions during his lifetime, that of the central travertine marble altarpiece commissioned in 1972 by Lord Palumbo for St Stephen’s Church, Walbrook, and the Northampton Madonna and Child some three decades earlier.  Initially approached in 1943 by the Reverend Walter Hussey for a commission for St Matthew’s Parish Church in Northampton, Moore was at first sceptical, unsure how best to differentiate the theme of a mother and child from that of the Madonna and Child, and mindful of the long inherited tradition that the motif held within Western art and iconography.

After witnessing the delicacy of Moore’s shelter drawings, which had been on display at the National Gallery the previous year, Hussey was convinced that Moore was the man for the job, and the artist soon set to work creating preparatory sketches and small clay models for the final piece.  As Moore later recalled 'I had not done any sculpture for nearly two years, through doing the shelter drawings and the coal mine drawings, I wanted to get back to sculpture, and yet I hadn’t got the themes in mind.  So this was a way of beginning.  But I still felt unsure of being able to do it, and I said to him, "If you will give me two or three months, I’ll do some little ideas, some little maquettes.  And if my friends such as Herbert Read and Kenneth Clark think that what I produce is all right, then I’ll consider it." And I did this. And we had them all out on the mantelpiece at the Upper Terrace house of Kenneth Clark’s' (Moore quoted in The Donald Carroll Interviews, Talmy, Franklin, London, 1973, HMF archive).  It was from such a model that the present work was later cast, and although slight variations appear between the early maquette and the later work in Hornton stone, the lyrical naturalism and steadfastness remain constant.

Providing the artist with his first opportunity to carve in stone since the outbreak of war, the commission provided a physical outlet for many of the pent-up ideas that Moore had developed and nurtured throughout his series of shelter drawings.  Capturing an everyday take on the mother and child theme, Moore developed the bulky, realised physicality of the mother figure, with angular, exposed knees, closely clutching the infant in her arms as both a symbol of hope and a means of protection in the otherwise fragile times.

Madonna and Child is an important study for one of Moore’s most significant public commissions and wonderfully captures the artist’s adept rendering of the close material relationship that he would later go on to develop further with the family group theme (see lot 21), rich in its sense of hope and promise characteristic of post-war society.