The Henry Moore Foundation was set up in 1977, its objective “to advance the education of the public by the promotion of their appreciation of the fine arts and in particular the works of Henry Moore”. The exceptionally well designed Web site of the Foundation is an authority on Britain’s best known twentieth century artist, giving high quality editorial, well chosen graphics and a comprehensive insight into Moore’s life and work.
The site has four main sections that aid navigation and reflect aspects of Moore’s life. First there is the main introductory section containing a brief biography and chronology of the key moments in Moore’s life and a bibliography listing the main monographic titles on Henry Moore. This bibliography is in effect part of the catalogue of the Henry Moore Library, and is arranged in four parts: catalogues raisonnés, bibliographies (in which there is one entry), selected exhibition catalogues (in chronological order) and selected general publications. The second section of the Web site deals with Perry Green, an area in Hertford where Henry Moore lived and where the headquarters of the Foundation are based. The section provides general visitor information useful for those wishing to take tours of the gardens, studios and galleries. There is also plenty of useful information about the holdings of the foundation’s library and archive services based in Elmwood House. These services are open to the serious researcher, and a lending service is also available.
A fascinating insight into the processes employed by Moore can be gleaned from the pages relating the Bourne Maquette Studio. This pageset opens with the remarkable revelation “The monumental bronze sculptures by Henry Moore familiar to audiences worldwide all began as plaster maquettes, small enough to be held in the palm of the artist’s hand”. The Maquette studio pages contain a number of photographs, and the background text is enlightening.
Also in the Perry Green section is detail about some of the galleries and the works on view. The Sheep Field Barn Gallery displays a selection of carvings, plasters, smaller bronzes and works on paper; some of these are illustrated by photographs on the Web pages. The Perry Green section gives a rich feeling of how and where the artist worked.
The third section of the Web site deals with the Henry Moore Foundation in Yorkshire. Moore, of course, was a Yorkshireman, born in Castleford in 1898 and educated at Castleford Secondary School. Despite his ambition to enter the local art college his father steered him towards a career in teaching, and so it was that he returned to his former school as a teacher. After service in the Great War Moore’s connection with Yorkshire continued as he rejected teaching in favour of a place at the Leeds School of Art. For two years he travelled by train each morning from Castleford to Leeds where he was the sole sculpture student.
In 1982 Moore’s Yorkshire connection (I hesitate to describe him as a Yorkshire Moore) was celebrated when through a joint venture between the Foundation and Leeds City Council the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds was founded. The Institute is devoted to the subject of sculpture, both historic and contemporary and from any national or geographic area of the world. There is a programme of exhibitions, collections and research. The Web pages outlining the Institute and its work contain a wealth of information but are perhaps rather dense. Of interest here are the Book Library, the Audio‐Visual Resource and the Archive. Each of these resources is described in terms of holdings, description and physical and bibliographical access. Also found in the third section is the Newsletter of the Henry Moore Institute which provides an overview and gives news items relevant to the Institute’s work. The Yorkshire connection is further emphasised by reference to and detail of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Bretton Hall, Wakefield and the Henry Moore Foundation Studio at Dean Clough, Halifax.
The fourth and final section of the site carries a comprehensive calendar of national and international events. This is a useful facet, with exhibition previews, images and all entries having a contact telephone number. A specific area of this fourth section is set aside for schools. The Blackboard contains a study pack, a gallery and links to various fun sites all of which are currently under development. The study pack, which is linked to the National Curriculum and which comprises pre‐visit, visit and post‐visit activities, is a very good idea and one of which I feel sure Henry Moore, the teacher, would have approved. The inclusion of a Bulletin Board system allowing discussion on relevant subjects is a useful piece of technology that lends a dimension of user interactivity.
This Web site is a very pleasant, informative and unpretentious introduction both to sculpture in general and more particularly to the work of Henry Moore.
