Image: 12" x 9 3/4", sheet: 18 1/4" x 12 1/2"
Catalogue reference: Cramer 41

Henry Moore was born in 1898 in Yorkshire, England. He found inspiration in ancient Pre-Colombian, African, and Etruscan sculpture. Moore believed these works possessed a "power of expression" which was deeper and more vital than the "beauty of expression" exhibited by classical Greek and Roman work. The power and style of these ancient arts inspired his sculptural and corporeal approach to printmaking.

Moore often worked using the human figure, exploring the physicality of the human body through abstraction and his unique style. In this image, he breaks down form using lines that recall tribal writing and ancient art. The use of multicolored layers of line further fractures the solidarity of the figure.

Image: 9 15/16" x 13 3/8", sheet: 16 7/8" x 20 3/8"
Catalogue reference: Cramer 373

The subject of "mother and child" was a self-proclaimed obsession for Moore and appeared frequently in his later works. When dealing with this subject Moore captures the intimate relationship of mother and child by the short distance between their bodies and the delicacy and familiarity of their touch.

Almost all of Moore's life drawings are of women in relaxed standing or seated positions. Unlike Degas and Rodin, Moore was not interested in portraying figures in motion. Nor did he draw women in erotic or foreshortened poses like Klimt or Schiele.