Henry Moore - 245 plates, 16 in colour

The late Sir Herbert Read was associated with Henry Moore both as a friend and a critic almost from the beginning of the sculptor's career. In 1934, in the first book to be published on Moore, Sir Herbert wrote, 'The life of an original artist of any kind - painter, sculptor, poet or musician - is hard; only an unfailing integrity of purpose can carry him through those years of financial failure, of public neglect or derision, which are his inevitable lot. All but a few are compelled to compromise. There has been no compromise in the life of Henry Moore, and now, in the fullness of his powers, he offers us the perfected product of his genius.' Sir Herbert was expressing a conviction rather than judgement based on adequate evidence. By now, however, the evidence is plentiful, and though Moore is still in the full flood of his creative powers, it is not likely that a considered appreciation based on the existing body of his work will be seriously affected by what is still to come. In the present volume the author has traced in simple outline Henry Moore's development as an artist, beginning with a biographical account of his origins and education, and proceeding to a stage-by-stage analysis of the development of his style and invention.