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Lot Essay
Executed in 1940-41, Henry Moore’s Shelterers is a touching examination of the power of human resilience, parental love and the strength of the familial bond under the extreme conditions imposed by war. Forming part of Henry Moore’s acclaimed series of Shelter Drawings, this work presents an intimate view of life in the unofficial shelters of London during the first few months of the Blitz, as the city’s population desperately sought shelter in the underground transport system to escape the aerial bombing that was reducing vast portions of the capital to rubble. When the devastating daily air raids by German Luftwaffe began, the war transformed from a worrisome, but distant event, to a real, immediate experience for the British public, as the horrors of modern warfare were brought directly to the home front and civilians were plunged into the centre of the conflict. In the present work, Moore creates an intimate, human scene typical of this time, as a young family shelter together in one of the makeshift refuges below ground. The two adults sit alongside one another, their attention entirely absorbed in watching their young child as it sits in its mother’s arms, its small hand reaching up towards her face. The connection between the three figures forms the heart of the composition, with the young child’s innocence contrasting strikingly with the sombre, worried attitude of the two adults, as they await the arrival of morning and the cessation of the bombing. Using only a minimal amount of detail, Moore powerfully imbues these figures with a sense of the fear, uncertainty, and distress that he witnessed first hand amongst the masses of people who found themselves seeking refuge underground, while also highlighting the intense power of parental love as they sought to protect their children.
Moore first encountered these groups of shelterers following a late-night journey through the Underground on 11 September 1940, the fifth day of the Blitz. As Moore and his wife travelled home from dinner with friends, they were struck by the sight of hundreds of individuals huddled on the platforms at each station, some attempting to sleep on the rough, cold floors, in order to escape the intense bombing occurring overhead. Upon reaching their destination, the Moores were forced to remain inside the station for over an hour, as the bombardment above ground became increasingly intense. Recalling this night, Moore explained: ‘I was so fascinated by the sight of people camping out under the ground…Children fast asleep, with trains roaring past only a couple of yards away. People who were obviously strangers to one another forming tight little intimate groups. They were cut off from what was happening above, but they were aware of it. There was tension in the air…’ (Moore, quoted in A. Wilson (ed.), Henry Moore: Writings and Conversations, Aldershot, 2002, p. 261). Witnessing first hand this extraordinary environment had a profound impact on the artist, driving him to return to the Underground shelters two or three times a week over the following months. Moore, describing his impulse to study the life of the shelterers, stated: ‘…the scenes of the shelter world, static figures –‘reclining figures’ – remained vivid in my mind, I felt somehow drawn to it all. Here was something I couldn’t help doing…I was absorbed in the work for a whole year; I did nothing else’ (Moore, quoted in C. Lichtenstern, Henry Moore: Work-Theory-Impact, London, 2008, p. 108).
Moore was conscious not to intrude upon the shelterers’ privacy during these journeys underground, taking the decision to leave his drawing materials at home and instead silently observe nightly life in the make-shift shelters. Making short notes in a pocket notebook about what he encountered, he would return home at dawn and execute a number of drawings from his memory using these notations to assist him, sometimes combining several experiences in a single drawing. Moore’s Shelter Drawings convey a sense of the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the underground shelters, as the deep shadows seem to surround and envelope his characters. To achieve this, the artist adopted a complex mixed-media technique, building the image across a number of different layers to achieve a rich, dense surface. Drawing the first layer of the composition in wax, the artist would then apply a dark, watercolour wash that would be repelled by the wax lines. The forms would then be further defined using a pen and black ink, with the artist delineating his figures in a series of rapid, sharp strokes. In the present work, Moore uses a mixture of bright white highlights and subtle touches of mauve, green and rose gold, to accentuate the forms of his characters, imbuing each of the figures with a distinct sense of monumentality and mass. Indeed, the strong three-dimensional forms in Shelterers and heavily marked depiction of masses betray Moore’s sculptural eye, and point to his use of Italian Renaissance and Classical art as sources of inspiration.
One of the most striking elements of the Shelter Drawings is the manner in which Moore transforms the individuals he observed in the Underground shelters into idol-like, archetypal figures, who come to embody the universal experience of suffering and resilience amongst the civilian population in Britain during the war. Indeed, it was this aspect of the drawings which viewers found most appealing when they were exhibited and published in the popular press throughout the 1940s, with many contemporary commentators commending Moore’s ability to capture the overwhelming atmosphere of the shelters during the Blitz. While the Shelter Drawings earned Moore a new level of popularity among the British public, they are perhaps even more remarkable for the important impact they exerted on the artist himself. In Moore’s own words: ‘Without the war, which directed one to life itself, I think I would have been a far less sensitive and responsible person... The War brought out and encouraged the humanist side in one’s work’ (Moore, quoted in R. Berthoud, The Life of Henry Moore, London, 1987, p. 176). The studies and drawings that Moore created of the shelterers would go on to shape the artist’s subsequent output, as he increasingly began to delve into the emotional and psychological aspects of his subjects as well as their formal attributes. In such poignant, moving drawings as Shelterers we see this approach beginning to emerge, as Moore eloquently captures the intense emotions felt by the underground shelterers hiding from the aerial bombardment and desperately trying to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Moore first encountered these groups of shelterers following a late-night journey through the Underground on 11 September 1940, the fifth day of the Blitz. As Moore and his wife travelled home from dinner with friends, they were struck by the sight of hundreds of individuals huddled on the platforms at each station, some attempting to sleep on the rough, cold floors, in order to escape the intense bombing occurring overhead. Upon reaching their destination, the Moores were forced to remain inside the station for over an hour, as the bombardment above ground became increasingly intense. Recalling this night, Moore explained: ‘I was so fascinated by the sight of people camping out under the ground…Children fast asleep, with trains roaring past only a couple of yards away. People who were obviously strangers to one another forming tight little intimate groups. They were cut off from what was happening above, but they were aware of it. There was tension in the air…’ (Moore, quoted in A. Wilson (ed.), Henry Moore: Writings and Conversations, Aldershot, 2002, p. 261). Witnessing first hand this extraordinary environment had a profound impact on the artist, driving him to return to the Underground shelters two or three times a week over the following months. Moore, describing his impulse to study the life of the shelterers, stated: ‘…the scenes of the shelter world, static figures –‘reclining figures’ – remained vivid in my mind, I felt somehow drawn to it all. Here was something I couldn’t help doing…I was absorbed in the work for a whole year; I did nothing else’ (Moore, quoted in C. Lichtenstern, Henry Moore: Work-Theory-Impact, London, 2008, p. 108).
Moore was conscious not to intrude upon the shelterers’ privacy during these journeys underground, taking the decision to leave his drawing materials at home and instead silently observe nightly life in the make-shift shelters. Making short notes in a pocket notebook about what he encountered, he would return home at dawn and execute a number of drawings from his memory using these notations to assist him, sometimes combining several experiences in a single drawing. Moore’s Shelter Drawings convey a sense of the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the underground shelters, as the deep shadows seem to surround and envelope his characters. To achieve this, the artist adopted a complex mixed-media technique, building the image across a number of different layers to achieve a rich, dense surface. Drawing the first layer of the composition in wax, the artist would then apply a dark, watercolour wash that would be repelled by the wax lines. The forms would then be further defined using a pen and black ink, with the artist delineating his figures in a series of rapid, sharp strokes. In the present work, Moore uses a mixture of bright white highlights and subtle touches of mauve, green and rose gold, to accentuate the forms of his characters, imbuing each of the figures with a distinct sense of monumentality and mass. Indeed, the strong three-dimensional forms in Shelterers and heavily marked depiction of masses betray Moore’s sculptural eye, and point to his use of Italian Renaissance and Classical art as sources of inspiration.
One of the most striking elements of the Shelter Drawings is the manner in which Moore transforms the individuals he observed in the Underground shelters into idol-like, archetypal figures, who come to embody the universal experience of suffering and resilience amongst the civilian population in Britain during the war. Indeed, it was this aspect of the drawings which viewers found most appealing when they were exhibited and published in the popular press throughout the 1940s, with many contemporary commentators commending Moore’s ability to capture the overwhelming atmosphere of the shelters during the Blitz. While the Shelter Drawings earned Moore a new level of popularity among the British public, they are perhaps even more remarkable for the important impact they exerted on the artist himself. In Moore’s own words: ‘Without the war, which directed one to life itself, I think I would have been a far less sensitive and responsible person... The War brought out and encouraged the humanist side in one’s work’ (Moore, quoted in R. Berthoud, The Life of Henry Moore, London, 1987, p. 176). The studies and drawings that Moore created of the shelterers would go on to shape the artist’s subsequent output, as he increasingly began to delve into the emotional and psychological aspects of his subjects as well as their formal attributes. In such poignant, moving drawings as Shelterers we see this approach beginning to emerge, as Moore eloquently captures the intense emotions felt by the underground shelterers hiding from the aerial bombardment and desperately trying to protect themselves and their loved ones.