Marlbo𒆙rough Fine Art., Ltd, London (acqui🐎red from the artist in 1963)

The Redfern Gallery, Ltd., London (acquir😼ed from the above)

Anna H. Bing, Califonia (acquired from the above and sold: Christie's𒉰, New York, November 3, 2003, lot 42)

Landau Fine Arts, Montr🌠eal (acquired at the above sale)

Acquired from the above

Robert Melville, Henry Moore, Sculpture and Drawings 1921-1969, Lo꧙ndon, 1970, nos. 631-632, illustration of another cast

David Mitchinson, ed., Henry Moore Sculpture with Comments by the Artist, London, 1981, no. 341, illustration of anotheꦦr cast p. 159

Alan G. Wilkinson, Henry Moore Remembered, The Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Toronto, 1987, no. 1𝕴48, illustration of another cast p. 196

Alan Bowness, ed., Henry Moore, Sculpture and Drawing,&ꦐnbsp; Lond💛on, 1986, vol. 3, no. 472, illustration of another cast p. 47

The sculpture is in very good condition. It displays a slightly weathered and uneven brown and green patina on its textured and tooled surface. A minor 1 1/2" shallow scratch was observed on the upper back of the figure. There are some minor accretions in some of the recesses that could be removed. The sculpture is clean and displays a fresh protective wax coating. The sculpture is structurally sound.
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 subject of the female figure, explored in this monumental work, is arguably the single most iconic image of Henry Moore's oeuvre. In the present work, he combined the highly abstract forms characteristic of his late sculpture, with his interest in the organic, natural world. Rising from the voluminous body, the head and neck of the woman display the thin, almost two-dimensional shape of a bone. Fascinated by the possibility of including organic forms in his sculpture, Moore often made plaster casts of a♊ctual bones, shells or stones.

 

The artist himself explained: "There are many structural and sculptural principles to be learnt from bones, e.g. that in spite of their lightness they have great strength. Some bones, such as the breast bones of birds, have the lightweight fineness of a knife-edge. Finding such a bone led to my using this knife-edge thinness in 1961 in a sculpture Seated Woman: Thin Neck. In this figure the thin neck and head, by contrast with the width and bulk of the body, gives more monumentality to the work" (H. Moore, quoted in R. Melville, op. cit., pp. 261-262).

 

In 1960 Moore also executed a smaller version of this work, Maquette for Seated Woman: Thin Neck. Other casts of the monumental version of tꦺhis work are in the collections of the Tate Gallery, London; Des Moines Arts Center, Iowa; the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle; and one cast former💎ly in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.