Bronze Age Gold from Wales

Henry Moore was one of the most important 20th century sculptors. One evening, during World War Two, he descended into a tube station which was being used as an air raid shelter. To his surprise he found the platform full of reclining figures, formed by the sleeping bodies draped in blankets. He then began to visit the tube stations regularly to draw the people sheltering there. The resulting Shelter Drawings form a distinct body of work, separate not only from Moore’s principal activity as sculptor, but also from the rest of his substantial legacy of drawings. They are, nevertheless, intimately linked to themes which concerned him throughout his career.