Study for Reclining Figure and other studies

This page of drawings is from a sketchbook that was taken apart in connection with an exhibition in the USA. At the bottom of the front are two studies for Moore’s sculpture Reclining Figure from 1945-46, which is now at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, USA. The wood sculpture, which can be seen as a reclining, pregnant woman, was virtually complete in 1942 when the drawing was made. The back of the sheet of paper is turned horizontally, and among the many sketches is another reclining figure, this time resting on its elbows. This can also be tied to one of Moore’s later sculptures, although it is more roughly sketched than that on the front. The front and back of the page show different stages of Moore’s work: the drawings on the back have a rough, probing character, whereas that on the front shows an almost completed work.