Campus Art: Restoring Henry Moore's Oval with Points

I feel that I can best express myself, that I can best give outward form to certain inward feelings or ambitions by the manipulation of solid materials‚—wood, stone, or metal. 
‚—Henry Moore, 1954

Henry Moore (1898—1986) was an artist whose approach to sculpture characterized the modern transformation of this ancient medium. From the early stages of his career in the 1920s and 1930s, Moore was committed to carving as a means of unifying the visual and tactile qualities of his work. Visible modeling and the abstraction of organic forms represented a break from the smooth finishes and idealized naturalism of traditional academic sculpture. An emphasis on the haptic quality of his materials carried through the entirety of Moore's practice; in later years when he began casting many of his sculptures in bronze, he would first develop the form in plaster (which remained soft longer than clay) to allow himself time to work the surfaces, making striations and marks that echo the hand-carved nature of his sculptures in wood and stone. It was through the union of a monumental, sinuous, and volumetric form and the texture and cross-hatching of its surface that Moore imbued Oval with Points (1969—70) with both physical and visual dynamism.

This summer's full restoration of Oval with Points, commissioned from the artist by Princeton University in 1969, was carried out with the help of archival photographs from the Henry Moore Foundation, the University Archives at Mudd Library, the work of Moore scholars, and the recent revival of Moore's own formula for making a green patina. The process of removing the existing patina from the sculpture, itself the result of earlier restoration work, and realigning the surface qualities with Moore's design was revelatory. Museum conservator Bart Devolder noted, "What we did not anticipate and is so strongly present are the real hands of Moore. We call it his fingerprints. We can almost see Moore working into this material." Returning Oval with Points to the artist's original intent led to multiple discoveries, including the artist's signature; the foundry mark of Morris Singer Founders London, where the piece was cast; and most importantly, the artist's deep engagement with the entirety of the process‚—from maquette to mold to finish‚—in his practice as a sculptor.

Every artwork dictates its own treatment.

‚—Bart Devolder, Senior Conservator

Princeton University Art Museum Fall 2021 Magazine