Henry Moore is perhaps the most influential British sculptor of the 20th century.
Born in Castleford he was encouraged by his father to become a teacher despite his artistic talent. In 1915 he taught at Temple Street School in Castleford prior to his studies at Leeds School of Art 1919. A scholarship award from the the Royal College of Art in 1921 enabled Moore to move to London where he began studying Classical, pre-Columbian and African art. During the first half of the 1930's he experimented with Surrealist and geometric-abstract ideas. His preferred subjects were human figures using wood, bronze or stone.
Throughout the 1940's Moore was awarded numerous prestigious commissions and several awards including the International Sculpture prize at the Biennale in Venice in 1948. From 1949 to 1956, he was a Trustee of the Tate Gallery, London and of the National Gallery, London from 1955 to 1974.