Why Did Henry Moore Want People to Touch His Sculptures

In the rolling hills of the British countryside, under ever-changing skies, you may come across a massive bronze form nestled among the green. At first glance, it might look abstract, almost otherworldly. But on closer inspection, curves emerge, a head leans back, and limbs recline gently into the earth. These are the iconic Reclining Figures of Henry Moore, monumental sculptures that rest not just on the ground, but in the collective consciousness of modern art.

Henry Moore (1898–1986) is not merely a sculptor; he is a storyteller, a philosopher of form, a weaver of space and shadow. His Reclining Figure series is perhaps the most enduring and recognizable facet of his extensive body of work. These figures do not demand attention, they invite it. They do not posture, they rest. They do not dominate the landscape, they become part of it.

The Allure of the Reclining Figure

Moore’s obsession with the human form, particularly the reclining figure, began in the 1920s and persisted for over five decades. While the standing figure represents power and action, and the seated figure often conveys introspection or authority, the reclining figure is timeless, it transcends. It is universal.

Moore once said, “The reclining figure gives me much more freedom in composition.” With the body lying horizontally, Moore could explore the relationship between form and space with greater flexibility. The contours could stretch, the torso twist, the limbs bend in abstract and rhythmic harmony. The landscape became both backdrop and collaborator.

The reclining figure, in Moore’s work, becomes more than a body, it becomes landscape itself. Hills echo hips. Valleys mimic the curve of a shoulder blade. In bronze, marble, or stone, his figures breathe the earth.

Why Does Henry Moore Have Holes in His Sculptures?

To the untrained eye, the holes in Moore’s work might seem like damage or voids. But in reality, these voids are crucial elements of his artistic language.

Moore did not merely carve around space, he carved with space. The holes, the gaps, the negative spaces, are as sculptural as the material that surrounds them. They allow light to pass through, change the way a viewer engages with the piece, and introduce mystery.

“I want the inside to be as alive as the outside,” Moore declared. The holes serve many purposes: they frame the landscape behind them, create depth, and invite viewers to peer through, thus actively engaging them with the piece. In Moore’s words, “A hole can have as much shape meaning as a solid mass.”

These sculptural voids are not omissions, they are expressions.

Why Did Henry Moore Want People to Touch His Sculptures?

In an age when art is often sequestered behind velvet ropes or glass barriers, Henry Moore’s philosophy remains refreshingly tactile. He wanted people to touch his work. He encouraged it. He welcomed it.

The texture of stone or the patina of bronze, the undulating curves and warm sunlit surfaces, all of these elements are enhanced through human interaction. Moore believed that sculpture should be a physical experience. “Sculpture is an art of the open air,” he said. “You should walk around it, touch it, experience it.”

Touching Moore’s sculptures is not just permitted, it is participation. It bridges the gap between the creator and the viewer, between idea and material, between past and present.

How Much Are Henry Moore Sculptures Worth?

The value of Henry Moore’s sculptures has risen dramatically over the years, reflecting not only his enduring influence on modern sculpture but also the scarcity and prestige associated with his works.

At auctions, major pieces have sold for tens of millions of dollars. In 2012, Moore’s “Reclining Figure: Festival” sold at Christie’s for over £19 million ($30 million USD), setting a record for a British sculpture. Smaller works, maquettes, drawings, or smaller bronzes, can range from tens of thousands to several million dollars depending on size, rarity, and provenance.

Public institutions and collectors alike compete for Moore’s work, making them prized assets in the art world. Yet beyond financial valuation, Moore’s sculptures hold cultural and emotional worth that transcends markets, they are heirlooms of human expression.

Why Is Henry Moore’s Art So Important?

Henry Moore transformed sculpture. Before Moore, sculpture in the West was often academic, figurative, and bound by tradition. Moore shattered these constraints. He synthesized influences from ancient Greek statuary, African tribal art, and pre-Columbian forms, and filtered them through a distinctly modern sensibility.

Moore’s contribution lies in his ability to blend the organic with the abstract, the familiar with the mysterious. He humanized abstraction without reducing it to cliché. His figures, though distorted and simplified, remain profoundly human. They echo the womb, the family, the landscape, and even wartime suffering.

During World War II, Moore became an official war artist. His shelter drawings, depicting Londoners huddled in Underground stations during air raids, revealed his compassion and deep humanism. These themes of resilience, vulnerability, and endurance are evident in his later sculptures.

Moreover, Moore democratized sculpture. He believed in placing art in public spaces, not hidden in museums but on college campuses, city squares, and parks. Today, Moore’s sculptures can be found across six continents, from Toronto to Tokyo, from Yorkshire to Jerusalem.

Where Can I See Henry Moore Sculptures?

You don’t have to travel far to see Moore’s work, his sculptures are scattered across the globe in public installations and museum collections. Here are some of the most notable places to see them:

1. The Henry Moore Foundation – Perry Green, Hertfordshire, UK

This is the spiritual home of Moore’s work. Located at the artist’s former residence, the foundation includes an outdoor sculpture park, his studio, and archives. Walking through the grounds is a transformative experience, seeing the works where they were conceived and created.

2. Yorkshire Sculpture Park – Wakefield, UK

Set in the county of Moore’s birth, the park boasts an extensive outdoor collection of his works alongside other major modern sculptors. The setting, open fields, lakes, and hills, complements the sculptures beautifully.

3. Tate Britain – London, UK

Tate holds an extensive collection of Moore’s works, including drawings, small bronzes, and studies that reveal his process and development over time.

4. Art Gallery of Ontario – Toronto, Canada

Thanks to a major donation from Moore himself, the AGO houses one of the largest public collections of his work in North America.

5. UNESCO Headquarters – Paris, France

Moore’s “Reclining Figure” is prominently displayed in the gardens of the UNESCO building, symbolizing peace, humanism, and universal values.

6. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden – Washington, D.C., USA

Moore’s works are part of this museum’s impressive modern art collection, displayed both inside and outdoors.

And these are just a few, Moore’s art lives in plazas, university campuses, and sculpture gardens worldwide.

How Did Henry Moore Make His Sculptures?

Henry Moore’s sculptural process evolved throughout his life, but his methods were grounded in a few core practices: direct carving, maquette modeling, and casting.

1. Direct Carving

In his early years, Moore was influenced by direct carving, a method inspired by artists like Constantin Brâncuși and Jacob Epstein. Rather than starting with a model and then having assistants carve the final piece, direct carvers work directly into the material, usually wood or stone, allowing the material’s properties to guide the outcome.

This approach demanded intense physical effort and intuition. Moore once said, “The sculpture is already in the stone; it is the sculptor’s task to release it.”

2. Maquettes and Models

As his sculptures became larger and more complex, Moore began working with maquettes, small models in clay or plaster. These allowed him to explore compositions and experiment with scale.

He often made dozens of versions of a single form, tweaking curves, refining voids, or adjusting balance before settling on a final design. These maquettes were sometimes cast in bronze as standalone works.

3. Bronze Casting

For monumental outdoor works, Moore turned to bronze, which could withstand the elements and allow for greater freedom in form. His team would scale up the maquette using a pointing machine, a tool that ensures proportional accuracy, and then create molds for casting.

The final bronze sculpture was often patinated to achieve different surface colors and textures. Moore preferred earthy tones, greens, browns, blacks, that harmonized with natural surroundings.

Even when he employed assistants and craftsmen, Moore was deeply involved in every step. His fingerprints, sometimes literally, remain embedded in his sculptures.

A Sculptor of the Soul

In many ways, Henry Moore sculpted more than figures, he sculpted emotions, history, and space itself. His Reclining Figures are not reclining at all; they are contemplating, embracing, enduring.

They reflect the universal human form, shaped by time, touched by war, grounded in nature. They invite not just viewing, but presence. They urge us to walk around them, peer through them, run our hands across them.

They exist both as individuals and as echoes, each figure unique, yet each part of a larger dialogue across decades and continents. The figure reclines, but the idea stands tall.

“All art should be for the people,” Moore believed. And he lived that belief, placing his works in parks, schools, and public spaces, not just elite museums.

In a world that moves fast and often forgets to look closely, Henry Moore’s sculptures offer a reason to pause, to wonder, to touch, and to remember what it means to be human.