Studies for Sculpture

Artist/Maker Henry Moore (British, 1898 - 1986)

Date1946

MediumPencil, wax crayon, coloured crayon, wash, pen and ink, chinagraph on paper

DimensionsComposition: 14 3/4 × 10 7/8 in. (37.5 × 27.6 cm) Sheet: 14 3/4 × 10 7/8 in. (37.5 × 27.6 cm) Frame: 24 7/8 × 20 7/8 × 2 in. (63.2 × 53 × 5.1 cm)

Credit LineBequest of William G. Roehrick, Class of 1934, H1971

Object number1996.15.39

Not on view

DescriptionAlthough Henry Moore worked primarily as a sculptor, the shortage of materials during World War II encouraged him to turn to drawing as an outlet. He was especially fond of wax crayons and used them frequently during this period, including in the present work. After the war, he incorporated drawing into his practice more regularly as a way to work out ideas for sculptures. The reclining abstracted figure—derived, in part, from Mesoamerican sources—is a hallmark of Moore’s sculptural oeuvre. In this sheet, he depicted various sculptures of reclining figures on a number of registers. Moore also included figures standing or seated around the sculptures, indicating his interest in how his work would be viewed and displayed. The central register depicts Memorial Figure, a stone sculpture Moore completed the following year for the grounds of Dartington Hall in Devon, England. The rectangular frame at the lower left, and possibly the one at the upper left as well, show Reclining Figure, an elm-wood sculpture the artist made in the same year as the drawing. This repetition may be explained by Moore’s belief that “to draw a piece of sculpture from a single point of view was to limit its full plastic possibilities.” He continuously reworked his ideas, sometimes returning to previous works in different mediums. Studies for Sculpture—along with Reclining Figure itself—was shown the year it was created in Moore’s first American retrospective, held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. It was lent to the exhibition by William G. Roehrick, Class of 1934, H1971, who left the drawing to Hamilton College upon his death in 1995. (SOURCE: Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS, 2017)

Collections

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2017
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions: The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years, Highlights from the Permanent Collection," September 9 - December 10, 2017 (cat. no. 85, illus.);

2005
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Hamilton Collects: A Century of Curiosities: The Story of the Hamilton College Collection," September 29 - December 30, 2005 (unnumbered cat.) [as "Sculpture in Museum"];

1992
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Rebels & Romantics: Some British Moderns and Their Work," June 6 - September 6, 1992 (cat. no. 52, illus., 39) [as "Sculpture in Museum"];

1966
Clinton, NY (Edward W. Root Art Center). "Hamilton College Alumni Collectors," 1966 [as "Sculpture in Museum"];

1964
Clinton, NY (Edward W. Root Art Center). "Collecting on a Shoestring: William Roehrick '34", 1964 [as "Sculpture in Museum"];

1946
New York, NY (The Museum of Modern Art). "Henry Moore," 1946 (cat. no. 106).

Provenance 1996: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by bequest of William G. Roehrick, Jr.;
1946 - 1996: William G. Roehrick, Jr., by purchase.

Published References Katherine D. Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS: THE RUTH AND ELMER WELLIN MUSEUM OF ART AT FIVE YEARS, HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION (Clinton, NY: Wellin Museum of Art, 2017), p. 196;

William Salzillo and Susanna White, HAMILTON COLLECTS, A CENTURY OF CURIOSITIES: THE STORY OF THE HAMILTON COLLEGE COLLECTION (exh. cat. Clinton, NY, Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, 2005), unnumbered checklist

David Lewis, ed., REBELS & ROMANTICS: SOME BRITISH MODERNS AND THEIR WORK (exh. cat. Clinton, NY, Fred L. Emerson Gallery, 1992): Tom Comerford "Henry Moore," 34, [checklist] 64, illus., 39.

HAMILTON COLLEGE ALUMNI COLLECTORS (exh. cat. Clinton, NY. The Edward W. Root Art Center, 1966), checklist no. 29.

COLLECTING ON A SHOESTRING: WILLIAM ROEHRICK '34 (exh. brochure. Clinton, NY, The Edward W. Root Art Center, 1964), checklist no. 14.

HENRY MOORE (exh. cat. New York, NY, The Museum of Modern Art, 1946), checklist no. 106, p. 92.

Signature Signed and dated "Moore / 46" in ink at lower right corner.

Inscribed "14 5/8 x 10 5/8" on verso at upper center in ink; "B.W." on verso at lower right in pencil; "R" on verso at lower center in red crayon; "46.1541 Roehrick" on verso at lower right corner in pencil.