Key Stage

KS3 (ENG), KS4 (ENG), KS3 (NI), KS4 (NI), CfE L4 (SCO), CfE L3 (SCO), KS3 (WAL), KS4 (WAL)
Art term

Abstraction, Modernism, Carving
Created by

Art UK
Topics

Groups, Family

Henry Moore (1898–1986)

Harlow Art Trust

About this resource

In 1953 Henry Moore was asked to create a sculpture for the new town of Harlow. Why did he choose to represent a family?

This resource provides a little contextual information, some discussion points and a practical creative activity that together can be used to:

evaluate and analyse a creative work by the artist Henry Moore
learn about the world's first sculpture town
consider the role public art plays in your community
produce creative work and explore ideas for a sculpture for your own locality

This Art and Design resource offers a series of activities that can be used together as a lesson plan or as individual components to integrate into your own scheme of work. It is devised for Key Stage 3/Level 3 but may also suit Key Stage 4/Level 4.

National Curriculum for England

Art and design
- Produce creative work
- Become proficient in sculpture and design techniques
- Evaluate and analyse creative works
- Know about great artists and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms
- Actively engage in the creative process of art, craft and designs
- Develop and refine ideas and proposals
- Develop an awareness of the purposes, intentions and functions of art, craft and design

Northern Ireland Curriculum

Art and design
- Developing students' own personal and creative responses
- Developing creative thinking skills through designing and making
- Investigate and respond to works of art that relate to their lives and experiences

Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence

Art and design
- Provides opportunities for me to deepen my understanding of culture in Scotland and the wider world. While working through a design process in response to a design brief, I can develop and communicate imaginative design solutions (EXA 3-06a)
- I can respond to the work of artists and designers by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive comment on my own and others' work (EXA 3-07a)

National Curriculum for Wales (2008)

Art and design
- Students use their knowledge about the work of other artists to enrich and inform their work through analysis and evaluation
- Students use a variety of processes
- Students evaluate their work through discussion

New Curriculum for Wales (2022)

Expressive Arts

Exploring the expressive arts is essential to developing artistic skills and knowledge and it enables learners to become curious and creative individuals.

Progression step 4:

I can explore and experiment with my own and others’ creative ideas, demonstrating increasingly complex technical control, innovation, independent thinking and originality to develop my work with confidence, being able to explain my reasons behind choices made and evaluate their effectiveness on my creative work

I can explore creative work, understanding the personal, social, cultural and historical context, including the conventions of the period in which it was created.

I can investigate and understand how meaning is communicated through the ideas of other artists and performers.

Progression step 5:

I can explore and experiment with my own creative ideas and those of others, demonstrating technical control, innovation, independent thinking and originality, showing confidence to take risks and developing resilience in order to overcome creative challenges.

I can investigate and analyse how creative work is used to represent and celebrate personal, social and cultural identities.

Responding and reflecting, both as artist and audience, is a fundamental part of learning in the expressive arts.

Progression step 4:

I can effectively evaluate my own creative work and that of others showing increasing confidence to recognise and articulate strengths, and to demonstrate resilience and determination to improve.

I can apply knowledge and understanding of context when evaluating my own creative work and creative work by other people and from other places and times.

I can evaluate the effectiveness of a wide range of artistic techniques in producing meaning.

Progression step 5:

I can critically and thoughtfully respond to and analyse the opinion and creative influences of others in order to independently shape and develop my own creative work.

I can critically evaluate the way artists use discipline-specific skills and techniques to create and communicate ideas.

Creating combines skills and knowledge, drawing on the senses, inspiration and imagination.

Progression step 4:

I can use my experimentation and investigation to manipulate creative work with purpose and intent when communicating my ideas.

I can apply specialised technical skills in my creative work.

I can purposefully use my design skills and apply a range of solutions to clarify and refine final creative ideas.

I can draw upon my experiences and knowledge to inform and develop strategies to overcome creative challenges with imagination and resilience.

Progression step 5:

I can synthesise and apply experience, knowledge and understanding with sophistication and intent when communicating my ideas.

I can use professionally established, discipline-specific techniques confidently and convincingly in my creative work and work towards industry standard.

I can design creative outcomes to professional and industry-standard with sophistication, clear purpose and intent.

I can use effective strategies to take risks with my own creative work and can display resilience to overcome creative challenges.

Image credit: Henry Moore Archive

Henry Moore with 'Harlow Family Group' 1954–1955 (LH 364) outside the Top Studio, Perry Green

Henry Moore

Henry Moore (1898–1986) is world-renowned for his large-scale public sculpture, many of which are situated prominently in towns and cities today. Many of Moore's sculptures are derived from the female body, apart from a period in the 1950s when he sculpted family groups.

In 1953 Moore was asked to make a public sculpture for the new town of Harlow, Essex. It was one of his first public commissions and he chose to carve a mother, father and child composition from a large block of Hadene limestone sourced from a quarry in Derbyshire.

Harlow, Sculpture Town

In 2010 Harlow was classified as the world's first 'sculpture town'. Harlow new town was created in Essex after the Second World War as a home for people moved from poor quality and bombed-out housing in London. Town planner Sir Frederick Gibberd and landscape architect Sylvia Crowe worked together to create a modern town with the latest architecture, and sculpture was part of the town from the start. There are now over 80 sculptures around the town, including works by major international sculptors such as Elisabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth and Auguste Rodin. They are looked after by Harlow Art Trust.

Sculpture in Harlow

New Town Nicola Burrell (b.1966)
Returning from Work 1909 Heinz Müller (1872–1937)
Not in Anger Leon Underwood (1890–1975)
Trigon 1963 Lynn Chadwick (1914–2003)
Runaway Rotavator Allan Sly (b.1951)
Wrestlers 1957 Sally Doig (b.1932)

Image credit: Penny Mayes, CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Geograph)

Harlow's Broadwalk in 1971

Pram town

Henry Moore knew Harlow as he lived nearby in Perry Green. He accepted the commission with enthusiasm and suggested making a family group 'conceived on human and classical lines' for the common near St Mary-at-Latton church.

A family-themed sculpture suited Harlow well. In the 1950s the town was known as 'pram town' thanks to its high birth rate – three times the national average. The sculpture became the emblem of Harlow.

Whole class activity: watch and discuss

A group of students from Harlow found out about Henry Moore’s Harlow sculpture and made this short film.

In the film Harlow Art Trust's artistic director gives three possible reasons why Moore choose to depict a family. What are they?
Do you think one reason is more likely than the others? Or did Moore have a mixture of motivations?
Did Moore choose the right material for this sculpture? Why or why not?
Henry Moore chose to depict a family made up of a father, a mother and a young child for 1950s Harlow. Is this vision of the family still as relevant today?
After the war, new towns were meant to provide a better future for people and art was seen to be part of that improvement. Is this idea still relevant or is it outdated?

Activity: design a sculpture for a public space near you

In this practical activity, students will design a sculpture that represents an optimistic future for their locality, and go out and about to use photography to choose a location for it.

Materials

Each student needs: a sketchbook or paper, a pen or pencil, a black permanent marker, a sheet of acetate, a camera, phone or tablet.

Initial ideas

Ask students to discuss or think about these questions:

If a family group symbolises the future of your local area, what should that family look like?
What is most important for you and the people in your local area right now? Is it family, or something else?
If a family group is no longer a relevant symbol of an optimistic future, what do you think is?
What sort of sculpture do you want to see in public spaces near your home or school?

Ask students to note down bullet-pointed themes and ideas relating to their new sculptures and sketch out quick, initial ideas of what their sculptures might look like in their sketchbooks.

Other family groups

Loved Ones Family Group 2000 Sara Johnson (b.1957)
Plas Coch Sculpture Simon Winter
Family 2006 Chetna Gadher (b.1984)
Mother and Child 1929–1930 John Knox (active 1929–1951)
Haile Selassie (1892–1975), and His Family 1987 Frances Broomfield (b.1951)
Family 1995 Jutai Toonoo (1959–2015)
Robot Family c.1975 Simon Axford Jones (active c.1975)

Image credit: CultureStreet

Example of a sculpture design on acetate

Developing one idea

Ask students to choose one idea to develop, making a bold, clear image of their design. When they are happy that their design communicates their idea clearly, ask them to trace it onto a sheet of acetate using a black permanent marker.

Image credit: CultureStreet

Example of a sculpture design in a location

Choosing a location

As either a field trip or homework, ask students to take their acetate sheets outside and photograph their sculpture designs in spaces where their public artwork might go. This is best done in pairs, taking turns to be artist and assistant. The assistant holds the acetate while the artists direct them on where to hold it, and chooses the distance and angle to photograph from for composition and scale.

Ask students to photograph their sculpture designs in at least three different places to find out where they are most effective.

As a class, review the photos of the group's designs in different locations. Work in teams to make decisions about where each public sculpture should be sited around your local area. Encourage students to share their views on where they think sculptures look best and why.

Extension activities

Students can develop their ideas further by making maquettes, using these small models to refine their ideas in three dimensions, and to consider material and texture for the final sculpture.

Ask students to put on a group show of their designs, ideas and maquettes including a collaborative map depicting the location of the classes' public artworks located throughout their local area.

Henry Moore on Art UK

Interactive map of Harlow's sculptures

The Henry Moore Foundation

Art Matters podcast: Harlow, the Sculpture Town 24 September 2019, Ferren Gipson
Henry Moore at 120 20 December 2018, Andrew Shore
From Hepworth to Frink: 12 female sculptors in Harlow 6 March 2019, Lydia Figes
Art UK Home School: speedy experimental drawing 4 June 2020, Selina Levinson Drake
Art UK Home School: who's on the pedestal? 30 July 2020, Sam Ayre
What is sculpture anyway? 21 February 2019, Katey Goodwin and Lydia Figes
Monuments, statues and street furniture: the wonderful world of public sculpture 18 February 2019, Anthony McIntosh
Sculpting in stone: the appeal of sandstone, limestone and marble 10 January 2020, Lydia Figes
Mapping cultural memory through public monuments 8 September 2017, Anthony McIntosh
Sculpture Counts: a card game to play at home! 9 April 2020, Catherine Mummery