Reclining Figure: Hand

Sculpted in 1979 by Henry Moore, Reclining Figure: Hand is one of hundreds of variations of the artist's most used forms. Here, the female figure’s arms and hands coalesce into the body of the form while the varying, curvaceous surface entices a tactile desire. Inspired much by the powerful and symbolic use by Rodin and Michelangelo, the hand has been emphasized throughout Moore’s career in both sculpture and drawing. Reclining Figure: Hand was a gift of the Hall Family Foundation.

The reclining figure is one of Henry Moore’s earliest and most often used forms throughout his career, comprising more than two-thirds of his 1,000-plus total sculptures. Two of his earliest forms were created in the late 1920s, Reclining Woman (1927) and Reclining Figure (1929), and were influenced by a cast of an Aztec Chacmool sculpture he saw at a Paris museum. Into the 30s, Moore started experimenting with surrealism and moved from an obvious human form toward more abstract, ambiguous forms. The sale of Reclining Figure (1939) in 1940 earned Moore enough money to buy the rural farmhouse Hoglands in Perry Green, Hertfordshire, England, where he spent the rest of his life. 

Into the 60s, Moore implemented even more abstraction in his work. Experimenting with the use of holes, shapes, and size, he used the natural elements of Hoglands as inspiration to create pieces that reflected and complimented the landscape, as he began to display his work outdoors. The original cast of Reclining Figure: Hand is on display in 2022 at Hoglands, which is now the location of the Henry Moore Foundation. 

Gallery Label for Reclining Figure: Hand (1979)

“Henry Moore's sculptures reflect his affinity for natural forms such as rocks, bones, mountains and the human figure. In Reclining Figure: Hand he simplifies the form of a reclining female figure, allowing her sensuous curves to echo those of a landscape.

Moore preferred to see his work sited outdoors against the backdrop of sky and earth, in order to underscore its relationship to nature.”

Reclining Figure: Hand, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Accessed September 8th, 2022. https://art.nelson-atkins.org/objects/2591/reclining-figure-hand.

2022 Perry Green, Sculpture in the Landscape at Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, Henry Moore Foundation. Accessed September 8th, 2022. https://catalogue.henry-moore.org/exhibitions/737/2022-perry-green-sculpture-in-the-landscape-at-henry-moore.

Henry Moore Sculptures, Bio, Ideas, The Art Story. Accessed September 8th, 2022. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/moore-henry/#.