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Henry Moore Artwork Catalogue

The Wall: Background for Sculpture

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photo: Jonty Wilde
The Wall: Background for Sculpture
photo: Jonty Wilde
photo: Jonty Wilde

The Wall: Background for Sculpture

Date1962
Artwork TypeSculpture Summary
Catalogue NumberLH 483
Mediabronze
Dimensionspublished dimensions: 254 cm (100 in.)
Ownershipedition summary - see individual casts for ownership
More Information

Edition summary

Bronze edition of 1+1, cast 1962
Primary: plaster, 1962



This work is the result of an experiment Moore made when facing the challenge of placing his sculpture in an architectural setting. The Wall was intended as a background for a sculpture, to form a visual barrier between the sculpture and the architecture. It is closely related to a number of smaller sculptures Moore made in the late 1950s of figures seated in front of walls. The flat plane of the wall is broken up and made more visually interesting with holes and strong textured areas. In some examples the walls are curved dramatically. While this idea worked on a small scale, Moore found that larger sculptures were more successful without a walled background, and so abandoned the idea.

ExhibitionsPublished References