Celebrated as one of the foremost sculptors of the twentieth century, Henry Moore’s greatest contributions explore universal themes of humanity through radical interpretations of the human form. Mother and Child: Block Seat is the celebrated British sculptor’s final full-scale mediation on the timeless motif of the mother and child, a theme that he explored inexhaustibly throughout his long and illustrious career.

The present cast of Working Model for Mother and Child: Block Seat is a lyrical abstraction achieved by paring the composition down to its most basic forms. Moore's dedication to this mother and child motif is evident in one of his earliest known works, a stone-carved iteration of the subject (see fig. 1).

Reflecting on his accomplishments and the future trajectory of his art, Moore declared, “There are two particular motives or subjects which I constantly used in my sculpture in the last twenty years; they are the Reclining Figure idea and the Mother and Child idea. (Perhaps of the two the Mother and Child has been the more fundamental obsession)” (Henry Moore quotes in Alan Wilkinson, ed., Henry Moore–Writings and Conversations, Berkeley, 2002, p. 267). Working Model for Mother and Child: Block Seat was one of Moore’s final investigations of this subject, representing the culmination of a career exploring one of humanity’s most potent subjects.

Within the history of Western Art, the iconography of the Madonna and Child is a foundational theme of Christianity’s visual lexicon. Emerging in force during the Italian Renaissance (see fig. 3), the popularity of the image and its resonance with its public can be attributed to the form’s ability to convey specific religious messages while touching upon universal themes such as childhood, birth, creativity and empathy. In 1942, Moore was approached by the Reverend Walter Hussey of St. Matthew’s Church in Northampton to create a Madonna and Child. Initially hesitant to accept, Moore considered how representations of the Madonna and Child differ from the more universal idea of mother and child, opening a broader inquiry into the dichotomy between religious and secular art. Moore concluded that the Madonna and Child contains an “austerity and a nobility … (even hieratic aloofness) which is missing in the everyday ‘Mother and Child’ idea” (ibid.; see fig. 4).

Moore’s Madonna and Child from 1943, in its reserved air of grandeur, exists in contrast with the natural ease of Mother and Child: Block Seat. Pared down to just the essential forms, Moore presents a natural, universal vision of the mother and child in Mother and Child: Block Seat. With austerity replaced by tenderness, the mother responds attentively to the small child who nestles quietly into her bosom.

The rich and varied surface of Working Model for Mother and Child: Block Seat expressively conveys the natural imperfections of human skin. The delicate lines lightly incised into the mother gracefully trace the curves of her figure, mirroring the creases and folds characteristic of aging skin. This varied texture sharply contrasts the smooth texture of the child’s back which shines with youthful exuberance. The parallels between themes of birth and the artistic process are made visible in the present work.

Like the late work of Michelangelo or Rodin, both artists admired by Moore, an area of the work has been roughly worked over, giving the appearance of unformed material (see fig. 5). Simplifying the central female figure so the sinuous curves of her body are the only indication of leg, Moore does away with feet altogether. This roughness at the base of the mother figure leaves clues to Moore’s transformation of his raw materials, the soulful agency of the artist that has breathed life into his creation.

In his later years, Moore enjoyed a level of artistic freedom predicated on the international recognition he achieved in his lifetime. With a spacious work environment and a full team dedicated to realizing his vision, Moore’s late work flourished, and the artist was able to realize his artistic vision on a new scale. Alan Bowness considers the artist’s preoccupation with human relationships as a defining feature in Moore’s late works, in particular pointing to the Mother and Child sculptures as exemplar of Moore’s exploration of "basic humanism," (Alan Bowness, Henry Moore: Complete Sculpture, vol. 4, 1964-73, London, 1977, p. 11). The mother and child theme allowed Moore to investigate human relationships; however, as Moore identified himself, the mother and child also allowed him to investigate key formal concerns, stating, “The subject itself is eternal and unending, with so many sculptural possibilities in it—a small form in relation to a big form, the big form protecting the small one, and so on. It is such a rich subject, both humanly and compositionally, that I will always go on using it” (quoted in Alan Wilkinson, ed., Henry Moore: Writings and Conversations, Berkeley, 2002, p. 213). In the present working model, the perfectly balanced composition articulates the harmonious relationship between mother and child that is at the core of Moore’s late work.

For Moore, nature serves as the backdrop to his sculptural practice, and nowhere is the symbiotic relationship between art, humans and the natural world more apparent than in his late works. Owned by the Henry Moore Foundation, the monumental version of Mother and Child: Block Seat is nestled amongst the gently rolling terrain of Moore’s former residence in Hertfordshire, seamlessly integrated into the natural landscape (see fig. 6). The sinuous lines and organic undulations of the present work echo the topography that surrounded and inspired Moore during his late career. Mother and Child: Block Seat epitomizes the warmth and tenderness so characteristic of Moore’s late works, a stark counterpoint to the mechanical coolness that prevails in many examples of modern sculpture.

Despite Moore’s radical abstraction of the human form in Working Model for Mother and Child: Block Seat, its intense naturalism and poignant ability to capture the most primal of all human experiences are emblematic of the pillars of Moore’s practice that have established him as one of the preeminent sculptors of the twentieth century. Other casts in the edition of the working model are held in institutional collections including the Henry Moore Foundation in Much Hadham and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. Held in the same family collection for decades, the present work comes to auction for the first time.