Henry Moore celebrates his mother in this affectionate portrait

On view at the AGO in gallery 124 is a selection of portraits of mothers – some posed, some depicted going about their everyday lives. Three of the women are portrayed by their own children, providing viewers with an intimate perspective of these artists’ mothers. 

This month’s RBC Art Pick is Henry Moore’s (1898 – 1986) sketch of his mother: The Artist’s Mother (1927), seen above. While Moore is widely known for his sculptures, drawing was a central aspect of his practice. He drew prolifically, starting during his time as a schoolboy and continuing throughout his life. Of the thousands of drawings Moore created in his lifetime, portraiture constituted a minor portion. However, when he did draw portraits, they were often of his family, including his sister, Mary Garrould; his wife, Irina Radetsky; his daughter, Mary Moore; and, of course, his mother, Mary Baker Moore.  

In The Artist’s Mother, Moore’s mother is depicted seated and focused on her needlework. At the time of this portrait, Moore and his mother were staying with his sister and her husband in Colchester, England. He rendered this sketch on a page from the local newspaper The Essex County Standard. Moore depicts his mother affectionately, outlining her hairstyle, glasses, furrowed brow and busy hands as she focuses calmly on her task. As you can tell from this work, Moore’s portraits were often not concerned with detailed facial features. Rather, he focused on body proportions and portraying the general disposition of the body to reveal the character of his sitter. 

Read more in this week’s Foyer, linked HERE.