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The Life of Henry Moore

Synopsis:

Henry Moore's rise from Yorkshire miner's son to international acclaim as the twentieth century's greatest sculptor is one of the most remarkable stories in British art. In this revised, updated, expanded and redesigned new edition of The Life of Henry Moore, Roger Berthoud charts Moore's transition from controversial young modernist to pillar of the art-world establishment, garlanded with domestic and foreign honours. His account is enriched by the weekly interviews he did with Moore -- and his wife Irina -- before the sculptor's death in 1986, aged eighty-eight. At home and abroad Moore's sculptures aroused strong passions and were often the object of abuse, sharp criticism and even physical assault, as well as of admiration. He was attacked by younger artists, among others, who saw his growing fame as an obstacle to their advancement. He was to survive the ebb and flow in his reputation, and emerge with the status of a contemporary old master. From a mass of material, including recently discovered early letters, and interviews with Moore's friends, his former assistants and students, dealers, collectors, museum officials and leading architects with whom he worked, Roger Berthoud has built up a lively and engaging though not uncritical picture of Moore's long life and career in this definitive biography.

Reviews:

'...a landmark in the literature on Moore. A nice balance is struck between the account of Moore's life and the use of criticism to place and assess his work.' Frances Spalding in Listener '...[it] conveys Moore's great personal charm as well as his artistic achievement; it is hard to imagine it being bettered.' Economist '...impeccably documented, admirably organized and undeniably gripping...' Hilary Spurling in Daily Telegraph '...[a] very readable biography -- the first to give us a comprehensive account of the artist...He knew Moore. He liked him and -- what is most important -- he has a vivid understanding of both the man and his work.' Hilton Kramer in Boston Globe

Author Biography:

Roger Berthoud was born in 1934 and educated at Rugby and Cambridge. He became a journalist after a brief spell in the City, joining the Evening Standard in 1960. There he specialized in the art world, interviewing many painters and covering the major auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's. Having edited the Londoner's Diary for two years, he joined The Times in 1967 as founding editor of a Times Diary strongly orientated towards the arts. Two years later he became correspondent first in Bonn and then in Brussels, returning to London in 1975 as a feature writer and interviewer. He left The Times in 1982 to become deputy editor of the Illustrated London News, ending his journalistic career as chief leader writer for the Independent. Among other works, he has written the definitive biography of Graham Sutherland (1982).

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements Viii Prelude xii Chapter I Childhood and School 1 1898-1916 Chapter II Briefly to war 21 1917 to Early 1919 Chapter III Art Student in Leeds 35 1919-21 Chapter IV Student in London and Abroad 46 1921-5 Chapter V Public Debuts and Teaching 72 1925-8 Chapter VI Marriage and a Masterpiece 97 1929-31 Chapter VII Hampstead, Chelsea and Kent 123 1931-6 Chapter Viii Surrealism, Constructivism and Socialism 154 1936-9 Chapter IX Shelter Drawings and The Northampton Madonna 186 1940-4 Chapter X Via New York and Venice to International Fame 225 1945-8 Chapter XI Execration and Celebration 252 1949-51 Chapter XII Anthology Pieces, and a Trip to Mexico 275 1952-4 Chapter Xiii Unesco, New Zealand and Auschwitz 298 1956-8 Chapter XIV Good Causes, big Dealers, and Caro's Thrust 322 1959-62 Chapter XV The Lincoln Center Piece 341 1962-5 Chapter XVI Toronto and The Tate Gift 365 1965-74(i) Chapter Xvii Towards Apotheosis in Florence 387 1965-72(ii) Chapter Xviii Becoming an Institution 423 1973-9 Chapter XIX Pain and Good Works 462 1980-6 Chronology of Main Events Involving The Henry Moore Foundation Since Henry Moore's Death in 1986 499 Appendix The Value of Money 504 1898-1986 Short Bibliography 506 Notes 509 Acknowledgements for Photographs 530 Index 532

Additional Information:

Illustrations: 196 b&w illustrations Related subjects: Sculptors Great Britain Biography Biography & autobiography Sculpture