Henry Moore Artwork Catalogue
Sealife
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Sealife
Datec.1946
Artwork TypeTextile Summary
Catalogue NumberTEX 25
Mediaserigraphy
Paperrayon
Collections
Known as ‘Eyebrows’ for many years, this design’s original title ‘Sealife’ was discovered on a tag pinned to a sample fabric during the cataloguing of the Ascher collection in 2006. This makes sense of the drawing HMF 2124k, which is signed to orient the image with the arches pointing upwards like waves and the bubbly squid-like amorphous shapes floating to the surface. The first sketch is more complex – HMF 2107 has an algae coloured wash, with the water divided into three strata: the pool’s surface with rings expanding and connecting to one another; plant life and coral – this time with the arches pointing downwards; and finally an array of imaginative sea creatures with multiple legs resembling octopi. The life forms – both plant and animal, are not really identifiable, but elements of a Surrealistic compilation in which the sea provides the medium for transformation.