Two bronze sculptures by Henry Moore from the estate of Lauren Bacall will come up at Bonhams Impressionist & Modern Art auction in New York on November 4. Working Model for Reclining Figure: Bone Skirt ($600,000 – 800,000) is a spectacular figure with rich dark brown patina, cast shortly after Bacall and Moore met for the first time in 1976. The work is a beautiful portrayal of the Reclining Figure, one of Moore’s iconic motifs, and a constant from the early 1920s through to his very last works. It measures 27 inches in length. Maquette for Mother and Child: Arms ($150,000 – 200,000), is eight inches in length and was cast in 1976.
Lauren Bacall became interested in Henry Moore in California in the 1950’s when she started buying his lithographs. She did not meet him until 1976, an encounter she described as a high point in her life. These sculptures adorned the drawing room of her home which overlooked Central Park in New York’s Dakota building.
Henry Moore, Working Model for Reclining Figure: Bone Skirt, 1977-1979 UPDATE: THIS MADE $1,061,000
© The Henry Moore Foundation.
Henry Moore, Maquette for Mother and Child: Arms, 1976
© The Henry Moore Foundation. UPDATE: THIS MADE $281,000