The Hakone Open-Air Museum possesses 26 sculptures by Henry Moore, making it one of the world's largest collections of his work in terms of scale. They were produced between 1948 and 1984, extending from Moore's mature period through to his later years. Centered on Upright Connected Forms (1979), a work donated by Moore, and Family Group（1948-49）, which was acquired from the former US vice president Nelson Rockefeller, as well as an additional 16 items obtained in 1986, the collection comprises excellent works that reveal the essence of Moore's art.
Moore received his art education in the United Kingdom, where he continued to live and produce work. Taking inspiration from cubism and surrealism as well as Mexican and tribal art, he established a unique style of outdoor sculpture that gained international acclaim. He vitalized British sculpture and remains a dominant figure.
As can be seen in Two Piece Reclining Figure: Cut(1979−81), the charm of his sculptures lies in its capacity to create space through organic shapes, density and the distribution of volume. Based on the human figure as well as bones, pebbles, shells, trees, and other shapes found in nature, the succinct forms in his works render curved surfaces that resonate with the undulations of Mother Nature, instilling a solid sense of stability. Moore explained, "There is no background to sculpture better than the sky, because you are contrasting solid form with its opposite-space." Positioned in an expansive space overlooking Sagami Bay, Reclining Figure: Arch Leg(1969−70) in the Hakone Open-Air Museum collection amply displays its charm.
Additionally, Moore described his work in terms of three subjects. "There are three recurring themes in my work: the ‘Mother and child’ idea, the 'Reclining figure, and the Interior-exterior forms." All three themes can be seen in the Hakone Open-Air Museum collection.

Mother and Child

Moore entered the Royal College of Art in London in 1921. Paying frequent visits to the British Museum to study Mexican sculptures, he was inspired to begin the Mother and Child series the following year. Family Group, which includes both parents, can also be described as a variation on the theme of "mother and child." Moore rarely produced sculptures of the male figure, but this work incorporates the figure of the father, whose hand is placed on the mother's left shoulder, reflecting Moore's own experience of becoming a father when his daughter Mary was born during the planning stages of the work. The arms of the parents draw a flowing curve as they link around the central figure of the child, skillfully expressing the bonds of family. The figure of a child held in the protective arms of parents is also a development of the "internal/external forms" theme. Work on Family Group commenced before World War II, when the director of education for Cambridgeshire commissioned Moore to make a sculpture for a school envisioned as a place of learning for children and parents. Due to financial problems, however, the school was never realized. After Moore received a commission in 1947 for another school from a different educator who had known about the project, Family Group finally came to fruition. As the first life-size sculpture he had cast in bronze, work with the foundry was arduous and time-consuming, but the result was a masterful embodiment of human affection. Moore pursued the mother and child theme thereafter, and approached abstraction with Mother and Child: Block Seat, produced after he had turned 80 years of age. Nevertheless, the grand figure of a mother cherishing a tiny life evokes a certain universal value.

Family Group

1948-49　Bronze　150×118×76cm

Mother and Child: Block Seat

1983-84　 Bronze　244×112×135cm

Reclining Figure

According to Moore, "there are three fundamental poses of the human figure. One is standing, the other is seated, and the third is lying down. But of the three poses, the reclining figure gives the most freedom, compositionally and spatially. It is free and stable at the same time." For this reason, it became his most frequently recurring subject. The first reclining figure Moore created in 1924 no longer exists, but in 1929 he produced Reclining Figure (Leeds Art Gallery, a depiction of a uniquely posed figure with a raised neck that was inspired by the chacmool statues associated with the rain spirit of the Toltec-Mayan culture of Mexico. Thereafter until his later years, he crafted a series of reclining figures assuming various poses. In Two Piece Reclining Figure No.1, he divided the torso of the figure at the maquette stage, creating two forms reminiscent of rocks or mountains. The intention was "to split the shape of the human body into two parts so that the sculpture blends in to the landscape, because the viewer would not expect a human figure there." A tension fills the space created between these two forms. As the viewer changes position, one hides the other, and a surprising multitude of shapes emerge in succession.

Two Piece Reclining Figure: Cut

1979-81　 Bronze　407.6×470×225cm

Reclining Figure: Arch Leg

1969-70　Bronze　259×465×206cm

Two Piece Reclining Figure No.1

1959　 Bronze　156×244×155cm

Internal/External Forms

Moore first worked on the theme of "internal/external forms" with The Helmet (Henry Moore Foundation), produced between 1939 and 1940. In relation to this theme, Moore stated: "I have done other sculptures based on this idea of one form being protected by another. [...] The interior of the helmet is really a figure and the outside casing of it is like the armor by which it might be protected in battle. I suppose in my mind was also the Mother and Child idea and of birth and the child in embryo. All these things are connected in this interior and exterior idea." Upright Internal/External Form: Flower is the first work in the internal/external forms series and depicts a flower whose outer petals seem to protect the inner stamens. Its organic form is indicative of Moore's absorption of surrealism.

Upright Internal/External Form: Flower

1951　 Bronze　76×25×23cm

Moore's Creative Process: From Maquette to Final Artwork

Moore initially carved his sculptures directly while referring to sketches, but from around 1935 he began to undertake large-scale works, for which he first produced small maquettes in wax, plaster, or terracotta. Small enough to fit in the palm of the hand, these maquettes allowed Moore to see his sculptures from different directions and served as a means of testing forms and compositions. On occasion, he would make between 10 and 20 maquettes.
When enlarging the maquette to create a larger work such as for outdoor display, Moore would first produce a scaled "working model" in clay or Styrofoam, from which he made a cast. This was then scaled up precisely and cast to create the completed full-size work. Regarding this process, Moore remarked: "When the work has this monumentality about it, then you can enlarge it almost to any size you like." Spindle Piece, for example, began first as a 16-centimeter-tall maquette made in plaster, but was subsequently made into a model 86 centimeters tall, and finally enlarged to a monument 3.33 meters high.
As with completed sculptures, several casts were made for each maquette and working model, with edition numbers added to respective works made in this way from the same cast. The third sculpture cast from a series of nine, for example, would have "3/9" inscribed on to the pedestal or another inconspicuous part of the work.
Bronze works were chemically treated to create a patina on the surface. A patina is a rust-like coating that occurs on copper, but it is artificially created to give a painterly effect on the sculpted surface. Moore sometimes altered the color according to the venue where the work was to be displayed.

Large Spindle Piece

'1968-74　Bronze　333×330×230cm

Working Model for Spindle Piece

1968-69　Bronze　86×68.5×66cm