© The Henry Moore Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Currently not on view
Oval with Points,
1969–70
Henry Moore, 1898–1986; born Castleford, United Kingdom; died Perry Green, United Kingdom
y1969-128
Henry Moore was among the most influential artists of the twentieth century, recognized for creating sculptures that merge abstraction with elements of nature. Oval with Points began as a series of sketches of an elephant skull. Moore translated the skull’s curves and voids into this soaring abstract form by carving directly into plaster before casting the work in bronze. In uniting a monumental, volumetric body and a crosshatched surface texture, Moore imbued Oval with Points with a sense of both physical and visual dynamism. In 1969, this work launched Princeton University’s development of a public art collection, now one of the most robust in the nation.
More Context
One of the most photographed sculptures on campus, <em>Oval with Points</em> has an amorphous shape that counters the formalism of Princeton's architecture. Henry Moore often found his inspiration in nature, and this work resembles an East African elephant skull kept in his studio. The inner curve is visibly burnished from people sitting on or sliding through it, a fact that delighted the artist.
More About This Object
Information
Title
Oval with Points
Dates
1969–70
Maker
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
ca. 335 × 265.4 × 133.3 cm (131 7/8 × 104 1/2 × 52 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
The John B. Putnam Jr. Memorial Collection, Princeton University
Object Number
y1969-128
Signatures
Signed with edition number lower right corner of plinth: Moore 1/6
Inscription
Founders mark, [lower center, where base meets sculpture]: [Morris|Singer|FOUNDERS|LONDON]
Culture
Type
Materials
Subject
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Sanford C. Reynolds, Jr., John N. Brooks, Jr., Edmund L. Keeley, James M. Markham, and John A. McPhee, the editorial board, "The Putnam sculpture: 20th Century masterpieces give dramatic perspectives to Princeton's familiar vistas", Princeton alumni weekly 70 (Jan. 27, 1970): p. 1214
, p. 14 (illus.) - Patrick Joseph Kelleher, Living with Modern Sculpture: the John B. Putnam, Jr., Memorial Collection, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 1982)., p. 112-115 (illus.)
- Jane McCarthy and Laurily K. Epstein, A guide to the sculpture parks and gardens of America, (New York, NY: Michael Kesend Pub., 1996).
- Karin Dienst, ed., Sculpture of Princeton University: including works from the John B. Putnam Jr. Memorial Collection, (Princeton, NJ: Published by the Office of Communications, in association with the Princeton University Art Museum, 2004)., p. 8-9 (illus.)
