Henry Moore's Shelter Drawings are universally recognised as a key element of his oeuvre. However, these drawings should not be seen in isolation: this volume provides a highly
readable account of the development of Moore's work as a draughtsman so providing a well-rounded discussion of this significant aspect of his artistic output. In 1953 Moore wrote,
'there is a general idea that sculptors' drawings should be diagrammatic studies, without any sense of background behind the object or of any atmosphere around it. ' And yet the
sculptor is as much concerned with space as the painter'. This statement gains resonance in the pages of this book
- it becomes clear that Moore's drawing often ran ahead of his
sculpture & that at certain points he was exercising an almost parallel career exploring essentially pictorial ideas that were difficult or even impossible to realise in sculpture.
Including a wealth of colour reproductions, The Drawings of Henry Moore balances first-class imagery with discussion of a range of fascinating themes such as the relationship
between the sculptural & the pictorial & Moore's engagement with Surrealism & British Neo-Romanticism. For both scholars & enthusiasts, it is an essential resource.