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Henry Moore Plasters will reopen in the Sheep Field Barn gallery at The Henry Moore Foundation, on 3 April and will run until 28 October. The exhibition will showcase for the first time the recently restored plaster for Relief No.1 1959 and the Foundation's newly acquired drawing Four Figures in a Setting 1948. It was seen by nearly 17,000 visitors last season.

Until recently, plasters made by sculptors have been seen as a means to an end, rather than as works in their own right. This is the first exhibition to show the way in which that perception is changing. Curated by Anita Feldman, Head of Collections and Exhibitions, Henry Moore: Plasters first opened at Perry Green in 2011. This selection spans three decades, with many sculptures being displayed a stone's throw from the studios in which they were made.

These studios, including the Bourne Maquette Studio, which is at the heart of the creative process, are also open to visitors. They offer a fuller understanding not only of Moore's working methods, but in particular of the role of plaster as a medium for sculpture.

Initially many plasters were destroyed to prevent further casts being made once a bronze edition was complete. Over time, however, Moore increasingly retained his plasters, appreciating them as the original sculptures which he hand-coloured and textured. Significantly, the markings made by the artist are much more visible in the plaster than the bronze, giving the sculptures a more organic and sometimes even a scarred appearance. A number of sculptural ideas were only conceived in plaster and Moore's plasters, which are much less well-known, are not included in the catalogue raisonné of his sculptures. Very few plasters can be found outside the Foundation, with notable exceptions a substantial gift the artist made to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1973 as well as works at Tate and on loan to the Dallas Museum of Art.

The exhibition is accompanied by a book, co-published by the Royal Academy of Arts, Henry Moore: Plasters, with essays by Anita Feldman and Malcolm Woodward, who worked alongside Moore in the enlargement of the plasters. Other contributors to the book include former assistants to Moore Anthony Caro, Derek Howarth and Phillip King. It will be available at Perry Green for a discounted price of £20 throughout the 2012 visitor season as a special opportunity.

Entry included in ticket to The Henry Moore Foundation, open Tuesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays, 3 April - 28 October 2012. Opening times and prices: see link right. Groups welcome, call 01279 844 104.