Henry Moore OM, CH

Three Standing Figures 1945 is a plaster cast of a maquette for a larger version of the sculpture carved in stone, which is on permanent display in Battersea Park, London. The plaster cast, like the full-size sculpture, comprises three female figures in draped clothing standing in a semi-circular formation. The central and right-hand figures stand closer to each other forming a pair while the figure on the left faces them at a slight distance (fig.1). Each figure has been modelled individually and is positioned on a shallow rectangular plaster base.1

The left-hand figure has lightly defined facial features and a bun of hair is positioned at the nape of her neck. She wears a long sleeveless tunic which is gathered in front of her navel and thighs. Her left arm is held against the side of her body, while a gap is discernable between her body and her right arm. She stands in a seemingly unnatural position with both knees bent, in contrast to the central figure, who appears to stand contrapposto with her left knee bent and the right leg straight. This figure appears to be wearing a long-sleeved cloak, open at the chest and the right shoulder. A large bundle of fabric wraps the circumference of her body around the hips. Her right elbow is bent and her forearm is positioned on her chest, holding the drapery across her breasts. Three vertical lines suggest drapery on the rear of the figure’s legs, while the only feature on the face is a single circular impression, which may represent an eye. The figure on the right shares this same single physiognomic feature, which suggests that although her body is facing inwards, she is looking out to her left. This figure’s right arm hangs by her side while her left arm, which appears to be in a sling, is positioned horizontally across her waist. A swathe of fabric wraps around her body on a diagonal, from the left hip down to the right thigh.