Henry Moore

White Chapel Art Gallery, London (acquired in 1960)
Lady Strauss, London (and sold: Sotheby's, London, November 30, 1994, lot 220)
Private Collection, Europe (acquired at the above sale)
Private Collection (by descent from the above and sold: Christie's, New York, November 4, 2004, lot 361)
Acquired at the above sale

London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Henry Moore, 1960

Ionel Jianou, Henry Moore, New York, 1968, no. 441
Robert Melville, Henry Moore, Sculpture and Drawings 1921-1969, London, 1970, no. 591, illustration of another cast
Alan Bowness, ed., Henry Moore, The Complete Sculpture 1955-64, vol. 3, London, 1983, no. 454, illustration of another cast p. 28

Rich brown patina. The work is affixed to a base at several places on the underside. The back of the wall retains remnants from the casting process. A few pindot spots of accretion , principally in the base but also in the figure at left's lap and some dirt in the deeper crevices, otherwise fine. This work is in excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

As the artist once stated, “One of the things I would like to think my sculpture has is a force, is a strength, is a life, a vitality from inside it, so that you have a sense that the form is pressing from inside trying to burst or trying to give off the strength from inside itself, rather than having something which is just shaped from outside and stopped” (quoted in Henry Moore & Franco Russoli, Henry Moore Sculpture, New York, 1981, p. 130).

One of the most celebrated sculptors of the twentieth century, Moore was most inspired by the human figure as well as organic shapes found in nature. The theme of the “the seated” rather than the “reclining” or “standing” figure first emerged in the artist’s work of the 1950s. Although considered a maquette, most studies such as Two Seated Figures Against Wall were not cast in larger scale. "I don’t make my maquettes and models for that purpose of trying to show to somebody else what the big one was going to be like. No, as I make this, the size is any size that I like. I can make it any size in my imagination that I want it to be" (quoted in Erich Steingraber, ed., Henry Moore, Maquetten: Interview mit Henry Moore, Munich, 1978, p. 56).