In a unique collaboration with The Henry Moore Foundation, Houghton Hall in Norfolk opens today to the public, a major exhibition HENRY MOORE AT HOUGHTON HALL: NATURE AND ISPIRATION – the first significant exhibition of the artist's work in East Anglia.
Curated by Sebastiano Barassi, Head of Collections and Exhibitions at the Henry Moore Foundation, the exhibition will include several monumental pieces outdoors in the park of the house, as well as a selection of smaller works, models and engravings, which will be shown in the ground. floor gallery spaces. There will also be sculptural interventions in the State Rooms, in particular in the Sala della Pietra.
Lord Cholmondeley, owner of Houghton Hall, said: “It is a great accolade to Houghton to have the Henry Moore Foundation involved in this year's exhibition. We are honored that the Foundation lends such a range of important work and have agreed to curate the show for us. We are also extremely grateful to our sponsors, especially the Gagosian Gallery. “
While Godfrey Worsdale, director of the Henry Moore Foundation, said: “The Foundation is delighted that Henry Moore's work will be seen in and around Houghton Hall. In recent years, Houghton has become increasingly recognized for the platform it offers artists, and especially the work of sculptors. Henry Moore was often engaged in the relationship between his work and architecture, and always delighted to see his monumental forms in natural light and settings; this exhibition will enable both to be seen to magnificent effect.”
Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) is regarded as one of the most important British artists of the XNUMXth century and arguably the most internationally renowned sculptor of the modern era. Moore was a pioneer and the first British artist to become a global star in his lifetime. His work came to symbolize post-war modernism and can be said to have caused a British sculptural renaissance. Moore's sculpture can be seen in countless museum collections around the world. He has worked in many different mediums, but his most recognizable works are large bronze groups that use both figurative and abstract elements. He has also produced fiberglass versions of some of his most iconic pieces by him, particularly for the exhibition, and two of these will be on display at Houghton.
Moore bequeathed a large body of work to the Foundation, which he set up in the grounds of his home in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, in 1977. Part of the Foundation's remit is to make loans and organize exhibitions both in this country and abroad.
Houghton Hall was built by Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, and was designed by the foremost architects of the early Georgian period, Colen Campbell and James Gibbs; while the gilded interiors of the State Floor, with their mythological painted ceilings and profusion of marble and mahogany, were the work of William Kent. Sir Robert's large picture collection was sold to the Empress Catherine of Russia in 1779, but the furniture, bronzes and Roman antiquities remained intact, as did the family portraits, and the original silks and velvets have survived in exceptional condition . Houghton and its estate passed to the Cholmondeley family in the late 18th century and is still a family home. The award-winning house and gardens have been open to the public since 1976.
In 2013 an extraordinary exhibition reunited the house with the collection of original Walpole paintings, with loans from the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg and many other museums and collections. The show won the Magazine's Show of the Year and Hudson's Heritage Best Event and attracted 120.000 visitors.
The collection of contemporary art and sculpture began in Houghton in 1998 by Lord Cholmondeley, and substantial pieces by artists such as James Turrell, Richard Long, Rachel Whiteread, Philip King, Zhan Wang, Stephen Cox, Anya Gallaccio and Jeppe Hein can be seen in gardens and parks. Additionally, Houghton began a series of major contemporary exhibitions with light works by James Turrell in 2015, followed by Richard Long in 2017 and Damien Hirst in 2018.
Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England
2 May – 29 September 2019
