Henry Moore's Sheep Sketchbook

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When Moore placed a cast of the sculpture in a field in Hertfordshire, he was pleased to see sheep sheltering under it or scratching themselves on it.

In some ways, Moore was attempting to recreate some sort of natural appearance but it was not the point of the work.By the 1930s Moore was already recognized as the leading avant-garde sculptor in England but it was his war drawings that brought him to the attention of the British public. He drew the sheep again that summer after they were shorn, when he could see the shapes of the bodies which had been covered with wool. The Wakefield Permanent Art Collection consists of more than 5,000 works, at the core of which is a significant group of works by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore which celebrate Yorkshire’s heritage as the birthplace of modern British sculpture. He was often photographed in physical contact with his work, holding it as the maker or resting his hands on it as in ownership.

He relied on varying the tone to capture light and shadow, form (the round solidity of a sheep) and shape (insinuating the shape of the nail’s body beneath the fleece). The effect is both familiar and monumental; as Lord Clark comments, ‘We expect Henry Moore to give a certain nobility to everything he draws; but more surprising is the way in which these drawings express a feeling of real affection for their subject’. Zig-zags and rushed ball point pen lines dominate the drawings, thicker and more panicked scratches where there is less light and softer yet vigorous marks on the brighter parts of the scene. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions.Clyde Degginger intended for a monument to capture something of the unique "pioneer spirit" of Kansas. Kenneth Clark (1903 – 1983) was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation. He drew a ewe and lamb – a large form sheltering a small one – which is an important theme in his larger sculpture work. With their oversized bodies, Moore was seeking to attract our attention to these rather mundane animals which we scarcely notice any more.