Press

 A major restoration of Henry Moore's monumental bronze, Large Figure in a Shelter, has just been completed at the artist's former home, now The Henry Moore Foundation in Perry Green, Hertfordshire.

Work on the sculpture - Moore's last and largest - cost £15,000 and took over a year to plan and execute, with the work scaffolded for two months.  It has been unveiled 25 years after the artist died on 31 August 1986.

The restoration process has been made into in a film to give sculpture professionals worldwide an insight into this specialist procedure. The film, titled Restoration of Large Figure in a Shelter, is available to view for free on The Foundation's website.

Visitors were able to watch the process throughout as part of a programme to increase access to all aspects of the artist's work. It is one of 25 works sited in the grounds at Perry Green, open until 31 October 2011. www.henry-moore.org/pg.

Anita Feldman, Head of Collections and Exhibitions, said: "Large Figure in a Shelter is one of Moore's most engaging and poignant works. It invites you to enter its space, where you find yourself surrounded by cupped forms, like a seashell. Following restoration, the beauty of these forms is now much more evident."

NOTES

In accordance with Moore's wishes, the Foundation ceased all casting when the artist died. However, Large Figure in a Shelter was still at the Foundry at the time of the artist's death. In these unique circumstances a clear lacquer was applied. In subsequent years, the lacquer degraded, exposing the welding marks and joints and leaving the base metal vulnerable to environmental damage.

Moore attached great importance to the patination of his works. The current restoration project has been carried out by Foundation conservator James Copper, who trained for over 12 years with Moore's assistants. The sculpture has been given a thin, light gold-brown patina that will develop naturally over time, in keeping with Moore's preferred choice for many of his monumental bronzes, including the only other cast of this work, which Moore sited at the Parque de los Pueblos de Europa in Guernica.