Henry Moore's Sheep Sketchbook

Description

A beautiful reproduction of Moore's 1972 Sheep Sketchbook, as Moore drew them from his studio overlooking the Sheep Fields at Perry Green. 

Sheep range

"Sheep have always had some special meaning for me, more so than cows or horses; whether it is that I saw them as a boy in parts of Yorkshire landscape or whether it's from reading the Bible in early childhood where sheep have a mention, and not horses for instance, I really would not like to say."
– Henry Moore

In February 1972, in the English countryside at Much Hadham, Henry Moore's sculpture workshops were busy with preparations for his upcoming retrospective exhibition in Florence. To escape from this hustle and bustle, he retreated to a small studio overlooking the fields where a local farmer grazed his sheep.

The sheep came very close to the window, attracting Moore's attention, and he began to draw them. Initially seeing them as four-legged balls of wool, his vision changed as he began to have a deeper understanding of what they were really like – their moods, the way they moved. He drew the sheep again that summer after they were shorn, when he could see the shapes of the bodies which had been covered with wool. 

They also developed strong human and biblical associations for Moore. The sight of a ewe with her lamb – a large form sheltering a small one – evoked the mother-and-child theme, which resonated with Moore throughout all his work.

Explore our range of items inspired by Moore's drawings of sheep.