From May 24 to November 2 2008 the New York Botanical Gardens hosts an exhibit of 21 large-scale sculptures by the renowned artist Henry Moore. I stumbled upon this show by accident while on my way to the Bronx zoo to sketch animals. Moore's work is carefully and artfully set in a variety of natural environments throughout the park. The pieces appear to evolve as the day progresses and the color and nature of the light changes. Shadows from the trees move across the forms hiding and revealing. At one moment a shaft of light will penetrate an interior space to re-emerge as an eye of warm light in a bronze socket. The next moment the sun will reflect off the metal surfaces in a pattern of intense highlights that radically alter the sense of the form. Not just sculptors but also photographers and sketch artists will find this exhibit inspiring. It may be one of those once-in-a-lifetime shows.

I managed to do a couple of sketches in graphic pencil and brush marker. These sketches definitely do not do justice to the subject. In particular I have failed to convey the scale and massiveness of the sculptures.

Henry Moore's "Reclining Mother and Child"

October 11 2008

Saturday, another beautiful day in the Bronx, I sat in the rose garden and made this sketch. It depicts Henry Moore's "Reclining Mother and Child" from the show "Moore in America" at the New York Botanical Garden.

Henry Moore's "Two Large Forms"

October 12 2008

A sketch of a sculpture from "Moore in America" at the New York Botanical Garden.

Henry Moore's "Two Piece Reclining Figure: Points"

October 12 2008

A sketch of a sculpture from "Moore in America" at the New York Botanical Garden.

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