Reclining Figure II

1940–1986

A bomb in Hampstead: the move to Hoglands

In September 1940 bomb shrapnel hit the Moores’ Hampstead home and they left London for Hoglands, a farmhouse in the hamlet of Perry Green near Much Hadham in Hertfordshire. It remained Moore’s home and workshop for the rest of his life; though he grew wealthy he never felt the need to move to larger premises.

1971–1974

A gift to Toronto: the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre

In 1974 the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre opened at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the world’s largest public collection of Moore’s work, most of it donated by him between 1971 and 1974.

summer 1972

An exhibition at the Forte di Belvedere, Florence

In the summer of 1972 a major retrospective of Moore’s work was held in the grounds of the Forte di Belvedere overlooking Florence, one of several large shows held around the world in the last three decades of his life.

1972–1977

The Henry Moore Trust and Foundation

As his wealth grew Moore worried about his legacy, and with the help of his daughter Mary set up the Henry Moore Trust in 1972 to protect his estate from death duties. By 1977 he was paying nearly a million pounds a year in income tax and established the Henry Moore Foundation as a charity, with Irina and Mary as trustees, to encourage public appreciation of the visual arts and especially of his own work.