Henry Moore
(England 1898–1986)
- Title
- Helmet head no. 2
- Year
- 1955
- Media category
- Sculpture
- Materials used
- bronze
- Dimensions
-
34.0 x 24.7 x 24.0cm; 4.2 x 26.0 x 31.7cm base
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1955
- Accession number
- 9195
- Copyright
- © The works are illustrated by kind permission of the Henry Moore Foundation and must not be reproduced or altered without prior consent from the Henry Moore Foundation
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Echoing the surrealism that was an early influence on the sculptor, this compact bronze merges mechanistic form with animistic feeling. Its owl-like outline and interrogative attitude make a direct demand on the viewer. Yet the secrecy of its internal voids and the implacability of its outward structures resist all dialogue. The enigmatic objects of Giacometti come to mind, redefined as they are by Moore's own brand of sculptural rationalism. Regardless of subject matter, and even at his most primitivistic, the English sculptor invested his work with a sense of composure and balance. 'Helmet head no. 2' rises with great solidity from a flange-like neck and throat. The shape suggests a Nazi helmet, unsurprising given Moore's deeply humanistic response to the sufferings occasioned by the Second World War. By contrast, his far more easeful bronze, 'Reclining figure: angles I' (1980) rests monumentally on its base outside the Gallery.
Art Gallery Handbook, 1999.
- Bibliography (16)
-
Bruce James (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Director), Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, Domain, 1999, 64 (colour illus.).
'A wish fulfilled' by Bick Waterlow, pg.14, The Sydney Morning Herald 10 Apr 1992, 10 Apr 1992, 14.
Nick Waterlow (Australia) (Author), Henry Moore, Sydney, 1992, 113 (illus.). plate no. 90
Annabel Davie (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales Handbook, Domain, 1988, 55.
Alan Bowness (Editor), Henry Moore: sculpture 1921-1986, 1955-1988, vol 2, 281 (illus.).
Editor Unknown (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales picturebook, Domain, 1972, 58 (colour illus.).
Robert Melville (Author), Henry Moore, Sculpture and drawings 1921-1969, London, 1970. cat.no. 407
The Australian 28 Dec 1968, 28 Dec 1968, (illus.).
John Hedgecoe (Author), Henry Moore (England, b.1898, d.1986) (Author), Henry Spencer Moore, London, 1968.
'Rodin and Modern British Sculpture' by Robert Haines, pg. 151-154, Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly Jul 1963, Jul 1963, 152, 153 (illus.).
Sir John Rothenstein (England, b.1901, d.1992) (Author), British Art since 1900, London, 1962.
Arts Council of Great Britain (England) (Author), Sculpture, London, 1961. cat.no. 39
Author Unknown, The Adelaide Festival of Arts 1960: Souvenir catalogue of special exhibitions at the National Gallery of South Australia, Unknown, 1960. cat. no.4
Erich Neumann (Author), The Archetypal world of Henry Moore, London, 1959, (illus.).
Author Unknown (Author), Henry Moore, London, 1955, xiv (illus.). plate no. 11.
Ernest Brown and Phillips Ltd, London (England), Catalogue of an exhibition of recent sculpture and early life drawings by Henry Moore, 1955.
- Exhibition history (4)
-
Recent sculpture and early life drawings by Henry Moore, The Leicester Galleries, Nov 1955–24 Nov 1955.
Purchases and Acquisitions for 1956, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 15 Mar 1957–31 Mar 1957.
Sculpture by the Masters: Adelaide Festival of Arts 1960, National Gallery of South Australia, 12 Mar 1960–26 Mar 1960.
Henry Moore 1898-1986, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 12 Apr 1992–09 Aug 1992.
