A visit with Henry Moore

Of course, the famous sculptor died thirty-eight years ago, so the visit was to his estate and workshops in Hertfordshire. Yet, his spirit still seems to be there, inhabiting his giant and miniature sculptures, at peace with the farmlands of the estate, and still cherishing the eclectic collection of items in his house ranging from small Rodin sculptures to shells and walrus tusks. 

The Henry Moore Foundation now owns the 70 acre farm and the massive sculptures dotted around it. Hoglands, the Moore home, and its contents still belongs to his daughter and it's forbidden to take photographs there. All of it is an amazing perspective into the life of a great artist.

His works often feature women, particularly woman and child, with strange empty volumes and undulating boundaries that are reminiscent of the topography of the farm. In his later years he became exceptionally wealthy as his massive works were in great demand for public spaces. Nevertheless, he lived frugally. His home is comfortable but basic, certainly not the residence one would expect of a millionaire. He gifted the estate and all the sculptures to the Foundation to avoid it being chopped up for death duties.

The story of his move to Hertfordshire is also intriguing. After visiting a friend there in 1940, he returned to his home in Hampstead to find it destroyed by shrapnel from a German bombing raid. His friend invited him back to share the house, and slowly Moore found it possible to buy the whole estate piecemeal.

Let's just wonder around the farm.

Out in the paddock, sheep visit the sculpture named in their honor

While some way off, the hills seem to flow naturally to Reclining Figure

One is also able to visit Moore's workshops which he built to carve his miniatures and build his full size pieces. Once again it seems as though he has only left for a while and will soon return to continue the work.

Moore's working sundial,
which he made himself

Then, finally, there is the gallery that he created from a derelict barn to house the tapestries he commissioned from sketches of his own work. But that is another story.