MOORE (Henry Spencer, 1898-1986, Sculptor)

Fine Typed Letter Signed with autograph amendments to the Central Committee of the A.I.A. thanking them for letting him “see a copy of the Central Committee’s statement on the situation in Czechoslovakia. I’ve read the statement carefully, but am not quite sure that I’ve followed your reasoning. In para. 2, you say; ‘Only the most careful investigation could determine which (facts) were true and which false; and this we are not in a position to do’, a statement with which I heartily agree. But in para. 1 you say that ‘this (the way in which the present Government assumed power) does not seem to us an undemocratic method.’ I’m not so sure, though, that the absence of facts about the extent of political victimisation doesn’t also apply to the manner in which the present Government came to power. I don’t think, therefore that the method was democratic or that is was undemocratic. Hence I cannot take it for granted that your statement is completely consistent. As to the third paragraph, I can’t agree that ‘it is necessary to distinguish between sporadic injustices and widespread suppression of public opinion.’ Where are you going to draw the line between the two? It seems to me that any injustice calls for protest. In view of my doubts concerning these matters, the only part of your statement with which I can fully associate myself is the second paragraph...”, 2 sides 8vo., Hoglands, Perry Green, Herts, headed paper, 7th May

Moore is best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced many drawings, including a series depicting Londoners sheltering from the Blitz during the Second World War, along with other graphic works on paper. In 1948 he won the International Sculpture Prize at the Venice Biennale. He turned down a knighthood in 1951 because he felt that the bestowal would lead to a perception of him as an establishment figure and that "such a title might tend to cut me off from fellow artists whose work has aims similar to mine".
After their Hampstead home was hit by bomb shrapnel in September 1940, Moore and Irina moved out of London to live in a farmhouse called Hoglands in the hamlet of Perry Green near Much Hadham, Hertfordshire. This was to become Moore's home and workshop for the rest of his life.
Artists International Association was an exhibiting society founded in London in 1933, which held exhibitions and events to promote and support various left-of centre political causes. Having come out of the First World War and then seeing the global effect of the Great Depression in 1929 many of these artists wanted to promote a better world. Though the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War erupted it was important to have a society where artists could still publicly protest war in a subtle way.
In late February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia through a coup d'état. It marked the onset of four decades of the party's rule in the country

Item Date:  1948

Stock No:  42312      £575

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