亨利∙摩爾

庫爾特·瓦倫丁，紐約
溫思普羅·默里·克蘭伉儷，麻省道爾頓
路易莎·克蘭（1972年家族傳承自上述藏家）
1992年獲贈自上述藏家

華盛頓哥倫比亞特區，菲利普紀念美術館，〈亨利∙摩爾素描及雕塑一座〉，1946年，品號24

羅伯特·梅爾維爾，《亨利∙摩爾：雕塑及素描1921-1969年》，紐約，1970年，品號298，300頁載圖

安·佳路特（編），《亨利·摩爾：素描全集1940-49年》，倫敦，2001年，第3冊，品號AG 42.193，168頁載圖

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.

Three Seated Women exemplifies the highly important technical and stylistic developments Moore achieved in the 1940s. During the Second World War, Moore executed what are arguably his greatest and certainly his most publicly recognized achievements as a draughtsman: the Shelter and Coal-Mine drawings of 1940 and 1942 executed in the London Underground and the pits at Castleford in Yorkshire respectively. According to the catalogue raisonné for the artist’s drawings, Three Seated Women was originally conceived as a study for a stone sculpture, “In a note on the verso of an early photograph of this drawing Moore has written ‘drawing for group life size to be translated into stone.’ Although no sculpture exists, an upright version of three draped figures LH 268 was carved in 1947-48. Characteristic of Moore’s drawing are the feet placed firmly upon the ground, a pose he associated with the frescoes of Piero della Francesca in the church of San Francesco at Arezzo” (A. Garrould, Op. cit., p. 168). 

Three Seated Women is distinguished by its important early provenance. The first owner of the work was Curt Valentin, the German art dealer known for representing many of the most important modern artists including Alexander Calder, Marino Marini, Jacques Lipchitz and Henry Moore. As a German-Jewish art dealer, Valentin fled war-torn Germany and in 1937 emigrated to the United States where he opened a modern art gallery, Bucholz Gallery in New York City. The drawing was later purchased by Mr. & Mrs. Winthrop M. Crane. Winthrop Crane was a political figure and businessman who served as Governor of Massachusetts and later the United States Senate. Crane was also an adviser to Republican US presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Three Seated Women remained with descendants of Crane for several generations until it was donated to the Berkshire Museum in 1992.