drawing;
sketch-book
- Museum number
- 1977,0402.13.1
- Description
-
Six lying figures, on leaf from 'The Shelter Sketchbook'. 1940-41
Pen and black ink and graphite, with green, red and blue wax crayon and watercolour
- Production date
- 1940-1941
- Dimensions
-
Height: 190 millimetres
-
Width: 164 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- 'The Shelter Sketchbook': a sketchbook containing sixty-seven leaves, on acquisition disbound in a brown paper cover, on the verso of which is written "If found please return to:" followed by the artist's name and address written in block capitals. One drawing of Moore's niece (signed and dated 1941, HMF 1721) was removed from the sketchbook at the request of Mary Moore, Moore's sister and immediately followed page 9 (1977,0402.13.9). The drawings are unsigned or dated and bear Moore's own numbering enclosed in a circle in black ink on the verso of each sheet top left (the numbering of each page was done many years after the removal of this sheet). The verso of most drawings are almost invariably blank except for the watercolour from the opposite page which usually offset. The book is the earlier of two such sketchbooks (the other is in the collection of the Henry Moore Foundation, Perry Green, Hertfordshire, presented by the artist's wife Irina Moore in 1977 and contains ninety-five leaves) and date from the autumn/winter of 1940-41. The artist describes them as "identical in format. They are cheap, tear-off pads with a cardboard back and originally contained a hundred sheets of thin paper quite suitable for jotting down ideas. They probably came from Bryce-Smith's artists' supply shop in Camden Town, where I bought most of my materials, and I seem to remember that they cost 1/6d each. They were bought before I had any intention of doing the shelter drawings" (Henry Moore: A Shelter Sketchbook with a commentary by Frances Carey (1988), BMP, p.10).
The Department also possesses a single-sheet Shelter drawing (P&D 1975,0118.10, HMF1842) from 1941 which is related to one of the best-known drawings from the campaign in the collection of the Tate (N05713, HMF 1845). The motif of two sleeping figures under one blanket was a favourite of the artist and at least ten variations are known.
From sketchbook 1977,0402.13.1-67.
Lit:Julian Andrews (2002), 'London's War: The Shelter Drawings of Henry Moore. Lund Humphries.
Eight sheets were exhibited in 1980, BM, 'British Figure Drawings' (no.cat), but which ones has not been specified in the surviving notes.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
1988/9 Nov-Feb, BM, Henry Moore Shelter Drawings (no cat.)
1994 May-July, Thurgau, Switz. Kunstmuseum, 'Henry Moore' (no cat.)
1994 July-Oct, Salzburg, Rupertinum, 'Henry Moore' (no cat.)
2011 May-Aug, St Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, Henry Moore
- Associated events
- Associated Event: Second World War
- Acquisition date
- 1977
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1977,0402.13.1