Henry Moore, 'Donatello', and the Language of Sculpture

Henry Moore, 1898-1986, 'Donatello', 1978, pen black ink, titled, signed
and dated front, (19 x 27cm). Estimate: £7000 - £9000.

We are delighted to present a rare and evocative drawing by one of Britain’s most celebrated sculptors, Henry Moore. Best known for his monumental reclining figures and organic abstractions, Moore's work on paper reveals the same tactile intimacy and intellectual rigour that underpins his sculpture.

From Yorkshire to International Acclaim

Born the seventh child of a coal miner in Castleford, Henry Moore was expected to pursue a secure profession. Initially trained as a teacher, Moore later shocked his father by turning to sculpture, a decision he viewed as a form of manual labour.

After serving in the First World War, during which he was gassed at the Battle of Cambrai, Moore attended Leeds School of Art, gaining access to influential collections and meeting lifelong peer Barbara Hepworth.

His artistic journey deepened in London, at the Royal College of Art, where exposure to the British Museum's ethnographic collections helped shape his enduring themes: the human figure, the landscape, and the eternal interplay between volume and void.

"Even when I was a student I was totally preoccupied by sculpture in its full spatial richness."– Henry Moore, 1955

A Radical Carver, A National Voice

Moore was at the forefront of direct carving in Britain during the 1920s, working in wood and stone with minimal preliminary modelling, a technique that celebrated the natural qualities and flaws of the material itself.

His creative ethos was influenced by Brancusi, Epstein and Gaudier-Brzeska, yet his work stood apart for its deep humanist resonance. Throughout the post-war years, Moore created public sculptures of unprecedented scale and prominence, including commissions for UNESCO, the Lincoln Center, and Parliament Square in London.

A Drawing of Gravitas

The work offered, ‘Donatello’ (1978), reflects Moore’s reverence for the Italian Renaissance master and draws on a lifetime of exploration into classical and modernist forms. Fluid yet architectural in quality, this pen and ink drawing demonstrates Moore’s mastery of weight, space and suggestion, even on paper.

As Hilton Kramer observed in 1967: "Not every such patron manages to get himself a Moore, but everyone seems to want one."

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