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Working Model for UNESCO Reclining Figure

A work made of bronze, cast in 1957, from an edition of five plus one.
© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London

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  • A work made of bronze, cast in 1957, from an edition of five plus one.

Date:

1957

Artist:

Henry Spencer Moore
English, 1898-1986

About this artwork

In the 1950s, Henry Moore executed a number of important public commissions, including Reclining Figure for the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in Paris. The Art Institute’s sculpture is one of six smaller bronze versions of the unique, over-16-foot-long marble figure that Moore installed at UNESCO in 1958. The artist looked to many cultures—particularly to enduring examples of art from ancient Greece and the Yucatán region of Mexico—to give his figural works their monumental forms and profound resonance with the art of the past. This reclining figure connects not only to history but also to the earth—its swelling masses and rounded voids suggest the female form as well as a landscape of valleys, mountains, and caves.

Status

On View, Gallery 389 (corridor)

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Henry Moore

Title

Working Model for UNESCO Reclining Figure

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1957

Medium

Bronze, cast in 1957, from an edition of five plus one

Dimensions

139.7 × 238.8 × 121.9 cm (55 × 94 × 48 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold H. Maremont

Reference Number

1960.9

Copyright

© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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