Private Collection, Canada
Waddington Galleries, London
Private Collection, New York
Acquired from the above in 1996

Alan Bowness, ed., Henry Moore, Complete Sculpture, 1955-64, vol. 3, London, 1986, no. 426, illustration of another cast p. 34

This work is in very good condition. Rich golden brown patina. This work is screwed to an original wooden base at two points on the underside. Some surface dirt in the deeper crevices. A spot of accretion at the deepest crevice in the drapery and a few tiny spots of accretion under the figure's arms. Otherwise fine.
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.

Maquette for Figure on Steps (1956) belongs to a series of draped reclining figures that Moore created in response to a commission to place a monumental bronze sculpture within the compound of the newly built UNESCO headquarters in Paris in the late 1950s. Moore was nonetheless at odds with the practice of completing a sculpture for an existing building as a simple enhancement to the architecture. He believed instead that his sculpted figures were autonomous works of art that needed to be seen from all angles, and not as adornment positioned against a surface. Creating an architectural element for the sculpture itself—the stairs, in the case of the present work—was his solution to this problem. The steps not only place the figure in a predetermined setting, they also create an independent and private space in which the seated figure exists. 

The maquette also reveals Moore’s interest in drapery as a sculptural element. He made a series of drawings during the Blitz of Londoners sheltering in the Underground, 🍷wrapped in thick blankets. These drawings sparked an interest in drapery which was renewed by his encounter with classical sculpture during a trip to Greece in 1951. Moore was attracted by the possibilities drapery afforded to make a figure more sculpturally expressive. In 1954 he stated, “Drapery can emphasize the tension in a figure, for where the form pushes outwards... it can be pulled tight across the form (almost like a bandage), and by con⛎trast with the crumpled slackness of the drapery which lies between the salient points, the pressure from inside is intensified” (Alan G. Wilkinson, ed., Henry Moore: Writings and Conversations, Berkeley, 2002, p. 280).

Chronologically the first and smallest model in his working process, the maquette provided the means by which Moore developed his ideas in the round. As he explained in 1968: “I prefer to work out my ideas in the form of small maquettes which I can hold in my hand and look at from every point of view” (ibid., p. 239). The next, intermediate stage before the realization of the full-size model were enlargements known as the "working models." Moore took pains to ensure that the qualities of immediacy, spontaneity and monumentality instilled in his maquettes were preserved in these mid-sized models—in this case the Working Model for Draped Seated Woman: Figure on Steps (1956-57). Although Moore ultimately decided to carve a work in Travertine for the Unesco commission, he completed his work on this series to create Draped Seated Woman (1957-58), a sculpture that would become one of♊ the most familiar images of his entire career.

Moore’s maquettes were cast in editions of ten and these vary in levels of polish and patina. He did all the patination himself, applying different acids to the bronze to alter the effects and then rubbing and wearing the surface down to give them a burnished, worn effect. A color image of Moore working on a cast of Maquette for Figure on Steps exists (see fig. 1), displaying a very similar rich brཧown patina to that found on the present work.

 

Fig. ꦜ1 Moore in 1956 applying patina to Maquette for Figure on Steps, possibly the present ca♏st

F꧟ig. 2 💫Label for the present cast signed by the artist