Edition summary

Bronze edition of 20+1, cast 1956
Primary: plaster, 1956


In 1966, Gavin Astor, owner of The Times, commissioned Moore to create a larger version of his Working Model for Sundial, for their new building in Blackfriars, London. Moore created this work based on a heliochronometer, the earliest known time-keeping device in which a bar casts a shadow on a calibrated scale. The chief architect of the new building, Richard Llewelyn-Davies, constructed a first model, about nine inches high in cardboard, to illustrate the principle. From this Moore produced a maquette about twice as high, then a wooden model from which a plaster cast was taken. The model was shipped to Noack in Berlin where the production in bronze started. The final sculpture was enlarged to a height of over 3.5 metres. On 23 November 1967, this sundial was shown to the public for the first time on the forecourt of The Times in London. It had been carefully positioned in the south-facing courtyard with advice from Dr F.A.B. Ward of the Science Museum, who had acted as a technical consultant. Following the sale of the building to The Observer in 1974, the sculpture was acquired by IBM for their site in Brussels. The only other full size cast can be found outside the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.