Publisher's Synopsis
As part of the series covering the complete drawings of Henry Moore, this third volume deals with the years of World War II, the only period of Moore's working life when he was not actively involved in making sculpture. The decade includes his exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the birth of his daughter in 1946 and his long association with Curt Valentin and the Buchholz Gallery, New York. Moore was appointed an Official War Artist in 1940 and his drawings of figures in the London Underground shelters during the Blitz brought his work before the general public for the first time. At the end of 1941, he visited Wheldale Colliery in Yorkshire to record miners working at the coalface. After these commissions, other drawings such as mother and child studies were made for sculpture projects. In addition to sculptural themes, Moore experimented with textile designs, and in response to literary commissions, he illustrated Edward Sackville-West's "The Rescue", 1946, and Andre Gide's "Promethee", 1949. This was a rich period for Moore's drawing, with new ideas being introduced that were later to bring him worldwide recognition.
