Ben Nicholson, they were strongly against it [against Surrealism ], though I felt, and feel, that there needn't be the sort of division in art that sprang up then. And Ben had also been much influenced by Mondrian. He was devoted to abstract art and she became much more interested in the abstract form. But for me, the essence of sculpture has always been the human figure. Still, of course, one kept in touch and one met and one's paths crossed." - Meaning and context.">
In: 'The Sunday Times', 25 May 1975; as quoted in Henry Moore writings and Conversations, ed. Alan Wilkinson, University of California Press, California 2002, p. 121
“

When the Surrealist exhibition [in London, 1936] was held Barbara [Hepworth] was by then married to [the sculptor] Ben Nicholson, they were strongly against it [against Surrealism ], though I felt, and feel, that there needn't be the sort of division in art that sprang up then. And Ben had also been much influenced by Mondrian. He was devoted to abstract art and she became much more interested in the abstract form. But for me, the essence of sculpture has always been the human figure. Still, of course, one kept in touch and one met and one's paths crossed.

— Henry Moore

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "When the Surrealist exhibition [in London, 1936] was held Barbara [Hepworth] was by then married to [the sculptor] Ben Nicholson, they were strongly against it [against Surrealism ], though I felt, and feel, that there needn't be the sort of division in art that sprang up then. And Ben had also been much influenced by Mondrian. He was devoted to abstract art and she became much more interested in the abstract form. But for me, the essence of sculpture has always been the human figure. Still, of course, one kept in touch and one met and one's paths crossed." in the context of "In: 'The Sunday Times', 25 May 1975; as quoted in Henry Moore writings and Conversations, ed. Alan Wilkinson, University of California Press, California 2002, p. 121" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Henry Moore" (Quotes of Henry Moore: chronologically ordered, after date of the quotes of Henry Moore, 1970 and later) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Henry Moore

About Henry Moore

Henry Moore OM CH FBA (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist and sculptor, best known for his monumental bronzes, which combined abstract art and Surrealism, as Moore frequently declared himself. He is famous for his many large sculptures, located worldwide as public works of art.