1984.48.FA Henry Moore, Girl | DMA Staging Content Management System

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Henry Moore carved this smooth, gracefully contoured figure with minimal facial features, the hint of a coiffure, and hands posed gently one within the other. The figure is incomplete; its limbs end just above the knee and seem to have disappeared into the textured cylindrical base, which was carved separately. Henry Moore claimed that he became a sculptor because he felt a deep connection with the material he used, whether it was wood, plaster, stone, or bronze. Sometimes it was the medium that dictated the form of his sculptures. Discussing this sculpture, Moore explains, "The three-quarter length figure of a girl with clasped hands is in boxwood. It was carved out of a log about four inches in diameter and twelve inches long. Because I liked this piece of material and didn't want to waste any of it, I kept the head nearly as wide as the body."

Adapted from

DMA label copy.

NOTES

Created in 1932

Catalogue essays

Foundation for the Arts

Twentieth Century European Sculpture

Sculpture Twentieth Century

Henry Moore: A Modernist's "Primitivism"

Modernism

Artist/designers

Moore, Henry (British, 1898-1986)

Cultures

Geography

Process/materials

Boxwood

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

Tate, London~Learn more about Henry Moore's sculptures.
Guggenheim, New York~Read a biography of Henry Moore.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

A comparison of Girl with the Senufo standing female figure (“rhythm pounder”) (1974.Sc.15)–unique among African figure sculptures—clearly indicates the inspiration for Moore’s design, with its cylindrical base and truncated legs.

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 1984.48.FA

General Description

Henry Moore carved this smooth, gracefully contoured figure with minimal facial features, the hint of a coiffure, and hands posed gently one within the other. The figure is incomplete; its limbs end just above the knee and seem to have disappeared into the textured cylindrical base, which was carved separately. Henry Moore claimed that he became a sculptor because he felt a deep connection with the material he used, whether it was wood, plaster, stone, or bronze. Sometimes it was the medium that dictated the form of his sculptures. Discussing this sculpture, Moore explains, "The three-quarter length figure of a girl with clasped hands is in boxwood. It was carved out of a log about four inches in diameter and twelve inches long. Because I liked this piece of material and didn't want to waste any of it, I kept the head nearly as wide as the body."

Adapted from

DMA label copy.

Fun Facts

A comparison of Girl with the Senufo standing female figure (“rhythm pounder”) (1974.Sc.15)–unique among African figure sculptures—clearly indicates the inspiration for Moore’s design, with its cylindrical base and truncated legs.

Archival Resources

Web Resources