24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Figures Reclining In The Garden - Henry Moore At Kew
By Caroline Lewis
28/09/2007
Image: photo of a bronze sculpture depicting an abstract female shape and a child
Draped Reclining Mother and Baby, 1983. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum
Caroline Lewis goes in search of relief from the heavy blocks of our built environment - and finds it in the sculptures of Henry Moore currently residng at Kew Gardens.
Kew is being the perfect host over the next few months to a crowd of modernist sculptures by one of England’s best known sculptors of the 20th century, Henry Moore.
It’s an ideal setting for the works, which were intended to be shown outdoors, and need walking around to discover their ins and outs – the changing aspects that Moore deliberately worked in to the abstract shapes and figures. What’s more, sunshine imbues the bronzes and green coppers with rich glossy surfaces, and dark weather increases the drama of the forms.
The sculptures are all scattered in the area close to the Main Gate and the Victoria Gate. Perhaps the only shame this entails is that you won’t stumble upon any as you stroll in the Bamboo Garden, or wander among the tall specimens in the Pinetum at the other end of Kew. On the plus side, if you’re only interested in the Moores, you don’t have too much legwork to do in order to see them all.
Image: photo of a sculpture of a woman in front of a large glass house
Draped Reclining Woman, 1957-58, with the Palm House in the back. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum
And they are thoughtfully positioned – for example the tall shape of the Large Upright Internal/External (1981-82) on the path to the Pagoda echoes the cylindrical building rising from the ground in the distance; the Draped Reclining Woman (1957-58) matches the long, arched shapes of the Palm House behind it.
There are several recurrent types of Moore sculpture among those on show at Kew: his trademark reclining figures, columnular totemic forms and interlocking or composite abstract shapes. The reclining figures look most at home dotted around the Gardens’ lush lawns, but the abstract shapes draw much attention, with children keen to climb in them as if that’s what they were designed for.
And perhaps they were. A short film about Moore, shown in the Prince of Wales Conservatory, has the artist recounting his joy at seeing lambs frolic around one of his sculptures on the grass outside.
Image: large bronze sculpture resembling a split open seed pod
Large Totem Head, 1968. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum
For inspiration, even in his 80s, he would travel out every day into the countryside. No surprise, then, that his forms are described as organic – there is little that could be said to be aggressive or industrial about these sculptures, despite their monumental size and stylised interpretations of figures. His work is also described as humanist, though the odd shapes and strange faces are often more ‘alien’ in their appearance, if we’re honest.
Indeed, it doesn’t seem that Moore was making a statement with his sculptures, but striving to produce satisfying, enjoyable works of art – art that sits happily in unspoilt natural environments, and provides relief from the heavy blocks of our built environment.
Upright Motive No.8 (1955) is one such piece that Moore created as a counterfoil to the horizontal rhythm of architecture, after noting how a tree growing in a courtyard had this effect.
Image: photo of three children touching a large abstract sculpture of a female figure reclining
Large Reclining Figure, 1984. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum
The other Upright Motives on show pay testament to one of Moore’s earliest influences – the ethnographic art he encountered in the British Museum. The reclining figures, too, had their roots in a Mayan sculpture Moore admired.
Others certainly take something from natural objects like seedpods, for example the Large Totem Head (1968), which reveals its divided core as you come round from the Woodland Garden. Moore collected natural objects ranging from skulls to driftwood at his Much Hadham home, Hoglands, and used them for ideas. Oval with Points (1968-70), with is air of tension formed by the division of a void, was inspired by an elephant skull.
Image: photo showing part of a sculpture with a hand touching another part of it
Detail of Reclining Figure, 1982. © Caroline Lewis / 24 Hour Museum
Moore’s sculptures tend to be asymmetrical and pierced in some way, to create a mystery about them – some look rather plain from one side, but reveal smooth caverns and shining curved frames from another. Large Two Forms (1966) is one such – a sea green, bulbous piece that is an arch from one direction, a super-sized handle shape from another.
The same goes for some of the reclining figures. Two Piece Reclining Figure: Cut (1979-81) is more of a Loch Ness Monster from one direction; Three Piece Reclining Figure: Draped (1975) has a definite rabbit head jutting out of it if you approach from its back.
All these interesting shapes are ripe for some creative photography. If you’re proud of your shots after you visit, you can submit them to Kew’s online gallery. Go to www.kew.org/henrymoore to do so and find out more about Moore.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AB, Surrey, England
Open: 9.30 am
Closed: Closing times vary according to the season.
Call 020 8 332 5655 for up-to-date information.
Kew Gardens is open daily except for Christmas Day and New Years Day
Related Articles
DCMS Launches Consultation Into The Future Of World Heritage Sites
A Selection Of Festive Fairs - Fun Days and Exhibitions
Summer 2008 Holiday Ideas At UK Heritage Sites And Museums
National Trust Opens Up Its Grounds To Train Heritage Gardeners
Shirley Sherwood Gallery Of Botanical Art Opens At Kew Gardens
China Now - A UK-wide Celebration Of Oriental Culture
Kew Gardens Acquires Sir Joseph Hooker Letters For Archives
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
National Portrait Gallery Acquires Tudor Double Portrait
Sheffield Metal Master Wins Museum's Inaugural Design Award
DCMS Launches Consultation Into The Future Of World Heritage Sites
A Selection Of Festive Fairs - Fun Days and Exhibitions
Royal Society Announces Plans For 350th Anniversary
Art Website ArtisanCam Wins Coveted Children's BAFTA
Former Floorboards Of Founding Father Franklin Facilitate Funny Four
Mark Leckey Wins The 2008 Turner Prize And Scoops £25,000
Library Thief Update: Sentencing Adjourned Until January 16, 2009
Fund Aims To Realise Long-Standing Campaign For Cardiff City Museum
Culture Secretary Slaps Export Ban On George I Chandelier
Shakespeare's Globe Costumes Go On Show In Nottingham
Britglyph Art Campaign Uses Web To Make Mass Geoglyph
Inaugural Awards Ceremony Honours UK Arts Philanthropists
Rare Silver Cup Commemorating Coronation Of Charles II Is Saved For The Nation
London Fire Brigade Museum Escapes Closure - For Now
Another Busy Year For Archaeology On Orkney In 2008
Severndroog Castle To Be Restored Thanks To Lottery Grant
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.