Henry Moore

Buchholz Gallery (Curt Valentin), New York
Alexander Liberman, New York
E.V. Thaw & Co., New York
Mr. & Mrs. John Hay Whitney, New York (acquired from the above on November 30, 1967, and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 10, 1999, lot 34)
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Alan G. Wilkinson, The Drawings of Henry Moore, New York & London, 1984, p. 249
Ann Garrould, ed., Henry Moore, Complete Drawings 1940-49, vol. 3, London, 2001, no. AG 45.8, illustrated p. 236

Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down. The sheet is hinged to the mount at multiple points along the perimeter of the verso. Artist pinholes in each of the four corners. Some indentations from the pencil underdrawing under each of the two figures, inherent to the artist's process. Some very minor stable shrinkage to the thickest areas of pigment pooling in the black and white of both figures. Tiny pindot hole to the front edge of the right figure's seat and a five-inch surface scratch running diagonally from the upper right quadrant to the figure's shoulder, otherwise fine this work is in excellent condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present drawing is closely related to the bronze Family Group of 1944 (Alan Bowness & Herbert Read, Henry Moore, Sculpture and Drawings, vol. 1, London, 1965, no. 233). Executed a year after the bronze, this work reverses the positions of the figures and more fully separates the two pairs. While so many drawings served as the studies for sculpture, this late drawing evoking earlier sculpture further highlights the inter-relatedness of the two media in Henry Moore's creative process. Both the Family Group and the Madonna/Mother and Child themes were central to Moore's art. In this drawing and the related sculptural groups, he imparts both the grandeur and timelessness of the Madonna and child—with its deeply religious connotations—and the intimacy and temporality of an ordinary mother holding her child protectively in her lap.

As Alan Wilkinson notes: "The importance of Henry Moore's drawings for sculpture cannot be over-estimated. Few great sculptors have left through their drawings such an extensive record of the genesis of so many sculptures. Between 1921 and the early 1950s almost all Moore's most important carvings and bronzes, as well as many lesser works, had their origin in the notebook page... they are crucial to our knowledge and understanding of the context and background in which Moore's art developed" (Alan G. Wilkinson, op. cit., p. 249).