Henry Moore, 1898–1986, British, Interior Figure, between 1939 and 1940
- Title:
Interior Figure
- Date:
- between 1939 and 1940
- Medium:
- Lead
- Dimensions:
- Overall: 12 × 6 × 4 inches (30.5 × 15.2 × 10.2 cm)
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Gift of Jeffrey H. Loria, Yale BA 1962, in memory of Harriet Loria Popowitz
- Copyright Status:
- © Estate of the Artist
- Accession Number:
- B2000.13.1
- Classification:
- Sculptures
- Collection:
- Paintings and Sculpture
- Subject Terms:
- abstract art | figure | figure study
- Access:
- Not on view
- Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:49605
- Export:
- XML
This small maquette represents a period in the late 1930s when Henry Moore was experimenting with surrealism. Although never officially a member of the surrealist group, Moore found an affinity with the movement’s aim to liberate the subconscious from rational thought. He consistently exhibited in a surrealist context in the late 1930s and sustained a relationship with many artists associated with the movement. The title of this piece blurs the boundaries between the body and the psyche, reflecting surrealism’s attempt to render the subconscious material. At this time, Moore also began to study oceanic sculpture and natural objects such as bones, pebbles, and branches, incorporating these forms into his figural pieces, as in Interior Figure. A decade later, Moore developed these concerns further in his large work Interior/Exterior Figure (1951). Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2020
David Sylvester, Henry Moore : Complete Sculpture, , v. 1-6, Lund Humphries, London, 1977 - 1999, p. 12; 136, vol. 1, cat. 212, , NJ18 M79 A12 B68 OVERSIZE (YCBA)
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