in edition of 12
bronze with brown patina
25.7cm.

Executed in 1957

Beatrice Renfield
Acquired by the present owner in 2003

London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Henry Moore 1950-1960, November - December 1960, cat. no.52, illustrated (another cast).

Robert Melville, Henry Moore, Sculpture and Drawings 1921-1969, London, 1970, cat. no. 551, illustrated p.360 (another cast);
David Mitchinson (ed.), Henry Moore Sculpture, with Comments by the Artist, London, 1981, cat. no.283, illustrated p.140 (another cast);
Alan Bowness (ed.), Henry Moore, Complete Sculpture 1955-64, London, 1986, Vol. 3, pps.36-37, cat. no.438, illustrated (another cast);
Susan Compton, Henry Moore, New York, 1988, cat. no.143, illustrated p.241 (plaster version).

There are surface accretions in the top two and centre holes in the back of the throne, which could well be plaster residue from the casting process. Similar accretions can be found in the right arm socket of the figure. There are some minor surface accretions on the lower right hand edge and to the lower edge of the back of the throne. Subject to the above, the surface and patina of the work is in very good condition. The work is attached to a chamfered York stone base - with a very minor chip to the right hand edge, minor chips to all bottom corners and a larger chip to the bottom edge at the rear corner. The back of the throne and the figure need tightening via the fixing screws. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"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."

'I think architecture is the poorer for the absence of sculpture and I also think that the sculptor, by not collaborating with the architect, misses opportunities of his work being used socially and being seen by a wider public... the time is coming for architects and sculptors to work together again.'

(The Artist, Sculpture in the Open Air: A Talk by Henry Moore on his Sculpture and its Placing in Open-Air Sites, 1955)

Moore’s growing international reputation during the 1950s drew the attention of a number of architects who approached him to commission large-scale sculpture for new buildings and public spaces. He was well aware of all the newest ideas in architectural design having lived around the corner from Wells Coates’s legendary Lawn Road Flats, also known as the Isokon Building (1933-1934) and had first incorporated architectural spaces in his drawings executed in the mid to late 1930s such as Ideas for Sculpture (1938, HMF 1372) and Figures in an Interior (1938, HMF 1376).

One of his most significant commissions during the decade was undoubtedly a large sculpture for the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris. Beginning in 1955, Moore had a huge variety of ideas as to the form this sculpture would take and the challenge in uniting his organic human forms with the sharp architectural designs of Marcel Breuer, Pier Luigi and Bernard Zehrfuss. Whilst the final figure was a pierced reclining female form in travertine marble (LH 416), the many variations for the commission provided the impetus for a great number of works placing figures on steps, platforms, benches, and, as in the case of the present work, against walls. The architectural framework undoubtedly heightens the monumentality of the seated figure whilst at the same time providing an intimate environment in which to consider its sophisticated silhouette. 

The figure takes on a classical and timeless elegance through the use of drapery over the his knees which, as Moore discovered in his WWII drawings of Londoners sheltering underground, ‘can reveal the form more effectively than if the figure were nude because it can emphasize the prominent part of the body' (the Artist, quoted in Henry Moore, (exh. cat.)♌, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 2004, p.110).