May 24, 2004

LONDON, ENGLAND.- One of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century, Henry Moore O.M. (1898-1986), will be commemorated with an English Heritage Blue Plaque at his former home and studio at 11a Parkhill Road in Hampstead, London NW3, where he lived with his wife Irina from 1929 to 1940. The artist's daughter, Mary Moore, unveiled the Blue Plaque at a special ceremony.

Dr Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: "We are thrilled to be honoring Henry Moore with an English Heritage Blue Plaque. It was at his studio in Parkhill Road that Henry Moore worked prolifically from 1929 to 1940, surrounded by fellow artists Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Cecil Stephenson. Revered as one of the world's leading sculptors, Henry Moore's work is celebrated in over 200 museums and galleries around the world."

David Mitchinson, Curator, Henry Moore Collections & Exhibitions, The Henry Moore Foundation, said: "Moore's studio at 11a Parkhill Road was the focus for much of his creative activity during the 1930s. Carvings and drawings now familiar in collections throughout the world were made there. It is highly appropriate that English Heritage should have chosen this building to site a Blue Plaque commemorating Moore's time in London."

Henry Moore and his wife moved to their first married home at 11a Parkhill Road on the recommendation of their sculptor friend Barbara Hepworth who had a studio nearby, as did art historian Herbert Read, sculptor Ben Nicholson and painter Cecil Stephenson. Herbert Read once referred to the close proximity of his artistic friends as "a genteel nest of artists." The Moores also came into close contact with artist Paul Nash and European artists such as Piet Mondrian and Naum Gabo.

Henry Moore's time at Parkhill Road was crucial in his development as sculptor and artist. It was under the influence of his circle of artist friends - which became a centre of the British abstract and surrealist movements - that Moore's sculpture became more experimental and his work became increasingly well-known. He became a member of avant-garde groups Unit One and the Seven and Five Society and held a number of successful one-man exhibitions. Moore worked prolifically at the Parkhill Road studio and set himself the target of completing 30 sculptures a year, with 22 examples surviving from 1930 alone, predominantly reclining figures and mothers-and-children.

In late 1940, soon after the outbreak of World War II, the Moores left London for Perry Green, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire. It was there that Moore was to live and work for the rest of his live. His first-hand experiences of war in London were to leave a powerful mark, and from 1940-2 he worked as an official war artist. In this period, Moore turned away from sculpture, and produced - among other works - his renowned "shelter drawings", inspired by sleeping figures sheltering from air-raids in London Underground stations.

Returning to sculpture in 1943, Moore built on his growing international reputation with works such as his "Madonna and Child" (1943-4) for St Matthew's Church, Northampton, which was the first in an important series of family-group sculptures. He received a number of awards, and won the international sculpture prize at the Venice Biennale in 1948.

In the 1950s Moore undertook several important public commissions including "Reclining Figure" (1956-58) for the UNESCO Building in Paris. In 1963 he was awarded the British Order of Merit. An exhibition of Moore's work was organized by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1978 and held at the Serpentine in London. At the same time he gave many of his sculptures to the Tate Gallery, London. In 1977, nine years before his death, Moore set up The Henry Moore Foundation, a registered charity set up "to advance the education of the public by the promotion of their appreciation of the fine arts and in particular the work of Henry Moore."