''Three Standing Figures'' 1947 (LH 268) is a large stone sculpture by

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Mo ...

. It was made in 1947–48, and exhibited at

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

's first Open-Air Sculpture Exhibition at

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland rec ...

in 1948. Donated to the council, it has been exhibited at the park since 1950. It became a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

in 1988.

Description

The high stone statue comprises three standing women, draped in flowing garments: two standing closer together, observed by the third. Each has rudimentary facial features, such as eye holes. Moore's draped figures developed from a series of drawings inspired by his observations of people in underground

bomb shelter A bomb shelter is a structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb. Types of shelter Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives. Air ...

s during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1968, Moore commented that "it is as though the three women are standing there, expecting something to happen from the sky" Sylvester published an essay in ''

The Burlington Magazine ''The Burlington Magazine'' is a monthly publication that covers the fine and decorative arts of all periods. Established in 1903, it is the longest running art journal in the English language. It has been published by a charitable organisation sin ...

'' in 1948 with an unusual interpretation, as a family group: the protective mother, the stern father, and the child on the far right.

History

Moore began with a terracotta model made c.1945; its present location is unknown, but there are two known plaster copies, one at the

Henry Moore Foundation The Henry Moore Foundation is a registered charity in England, established for education and promotion of the fine arts — in particular, to advance understanding of the works of Henry Moore. The charity was set up with a gift from the arti ...

and one on long-term loan to the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

. Moore also cast a bronze edition of four (plus one artist's copy) between 1948 and 1949; an additional artist's cast was made in 1985. Examples of these sculptures are held in the

Smith College Museum of Art The Smith College Museum of Art (abbreviated SCMA), is an art museum in Northampton, Massachusetts connected with Smith College. The museum is known for its compilation of American and European art of the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by ...

in Massachusetts and the

Peggy Guggenheim Collection The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro '' sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is one of the most visited attractions in Venice. The collection is housed in the , an 18th-century palace, which was the hom ...

in Venice. The work in Battersea Park was carved between August 1947 and May 1948 from

Darley Dale Darley Dale, also known simply as Darley, is a town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, with a population of 5,413. It lies north of Matlock, on the River Derwent and the A6 road. The town forms part ...

sandstone, one of the last statues that Moore made from English stone. It was originally conceived to fulfil a commission from the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

in New York, but it was instead exhibited at London County Council's first Open-Air Sculpture Exhibition at Battersea Park in 1948. (MOMA took instead a cast of Moore's first large bronze, ''

Family Group ''Family Group'' (LH 269) is a sculpture by Henry Moore. It was his first large-scale bronze sculpture, and his first large bronze with multiple castings. Made for Barclay School in Stevenage, it evolved from drawings in the 1930s, through ...

'' from

The Barclay School Barclay Academy is a secondary school and sixth form located in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The current head teacher is Dr. Matthew Laban. Opening in 1949, it was the first purpose-built secondary school constructed in the UK after th ...

in Stevenage, itself originally intended for

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who, along with Alvar Aalto, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, is widely regarded as one ...

Impington Village College Impington Village College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Impington in the English county of Cambridgeshire. The buildings of 1938/9 by Walter Gropius and Maxwell Fry are Grade I listed. The school opened in 1939, two we ...

.) Moore was a member of the selection committee for the Open-Air Exhibition, and his sculpture was used on the publicity poster. It was sited in a prominent position, at the top of a slight rise in ground, with trees behind. His reputation grew dramatically from 1948, when he was a selected as Britain's greatest living artist for the 24th

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

and won the sculpture prize. The sculpture was lent for the Open-Air Exhibition in 1948, and then bought by the

Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museum ...

and donated to

. It has been permanently sited in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batte ...

, London, in 1950.

In popular culture

The sculpture featured in the 1991 ''

Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and ...

'' episode

Mr. Bean Goes to Town "Mr. Bean Goes to Town" is the fourth episode of the British television series '' Mr. Bean'', produced by Tiger Television for Thames Television. It was first broadcast on ITV on 15 October 1991 and was watched by 14.42 million viewers dur ...

; Bean tries to take a

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as Fac ...

with a

polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...

camera, with the sculpture in the background. Being unsuccessful, he asks a passerby to take his photo, but the man runs off with Bean’s camera.

Notes

References

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External links

{{coord, 51.47813, N, 0.15691, W, source:wikidata, display=title 1947 sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1948 Stone sculptures in the United Kingdom Outdoor sculptures in London Sculptures by Henry Moore Grade II listed statues in London Stone statues Sandstone sculptures Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Wandsworth Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth Buildings and structures in Battersea Sculptures of women in London