The Life of Henry Moore - Softcover

'...a landmark in the literature on Moore. A nice balance is struck between the account of Moore's life and the use of criticism to place and assess his work.' Frances Spalding in Listener '...[it] conveys Moore's great personal charm as well as his artistic achievement; it is hard to imagine it being bettered.' Economist '...impeccably documented, admirably organized and undeniably gripping...' Hilary Spurling in Daily Telegraph '...[a] very readable biography -- the first to give us a comprehensive account of the artist...He knew Moore. He liked him and -- what is most important -- he has a vivid understanding of both the man and his work.' Hilton Kramer in Boston Globe

Henry Moore's rise from Yorkshire miner's son to international acclaim as the twentieth century's greatest sculptor is one of the most remarkable stories in British art. In this revised, updated, expanded and redesigned new edition of The Life of Henry Moore, Roger Berthoud charts Moore's transition from controversial young modernist to pillar of the art-world establishment, garlanded with domestic and foreign honours. His account is enriched by the weekly interviews he did with Moore -- and his wife Irina -- before the sculptor's death in 1986, aged eighty-eight. At home and abroad Moore's sculptures aroused strong passions and were often the object of abuse, sharp criticism and even physical assault, as well as of admiration. He was attacked by younger artists, among others, who saw his growing fame as an obstacle to their advancement. He was to survive the ebb and flow in his reputation, and emerge with the status of a contemporary old master. From a mass of material, including recently discovered early letters, and interviews with Moore's friends, his former assistants and students, dealers, collectors, museum officials and leading architects with whom he worked, Roger Berthoud has built up a lively and engaging though not uncritical picture of Moore's long life and career in this definitive biography.