Product Description

During the early part of World War II, Henry Moore had to give up working on sculpture when his Hampstead studio was bombed. Instead he concentrated on drawing, creating a monumental series of works showing the plight of people sheltering in the London Underground. This work considers Moore's visual documentation of the shelters within the context of the events of the London Blitz of 1940-41. It looks at Moore's personal and political feelings about the coming war and his doubts about working as an Official War Artist, comparing Moore's wartime drawings to works by other artists and to documentary photographs. In addition, the author considers the influence of the Shelter Drawings on people's feelings about the Blitz and their effect on public attitudes towards Moore's work.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #178828 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Passing on a review of this book: "A Superb Survey"

London's War: The Shelter Drawings of Henry Moore - Reviews - Brief Article - Book Review
Contemporary Review,  Nov, 2003  


London's War: The Shelter Drawings of Henry Moore. Julian Andrews. Lund Humphries. [pounds sterling]25.00 p.b. 144 pages. ISBN 0-85331-844-1. Among the most popular visual pictures of the Second World War are those showing Londoners finding safety in the city's underground. These drawings were made between the autumn of 1940 and the summer of 1941 and came to number more than 300. Moore made them at the request of the War Artists Advisory Committee. Mr Andrews admits that not all the drawings are good but they do show how an artist came to terms with a situation in which people were 'having things done to them that they were quite powerless to resist'. Although the drawings began as a private affair based on a chance journey on the Tube, they soon became famous and a source of needed income. By comparing the drawings to actual photographs and by including much valuable information about the works, the artist and the war, Mr Andrews has given readers not just the first book on these works but a superb survey of the drawings and the artist behind them. (P.P.F.)

COPYRIGHT 2003 Contemporary Review Company Ltd.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group