Henry Moore (1898-1986)

by Kendyl D.



Henry Moore was a British artist and sculptor. Moore was the son of a mining engineer, and born in the Yorkshire town of Castleford, England. Moore became well known for his large-scale abstract cast bronze and carved marble sculptures. Supported by the British art establishment, Moore helped to introduce a particular form of modernism into the United Kingdom.His ability to satisfy large-scale commissions made him exceptionally wealthy towards the end of his life. However, most of his wealth went to endow the Henry Moore Foundation, which continues to support education and promotion of the arts. Moore’s signature form is a pierced reclining figure, first influenced by a Toltec-Maya sculpture known as "Chac Mool", which he had seen as a plaster cast in Paris, 1925. Early versions are pierced conventionally as a bent arm reconnects with the body. Later more abstract versions are pierced directly through the body in order to explore the concave and convex shapes.
His sculptures are usually abstractions of the human figure, and if so there’re almost always female. Many interpret the undulating form of his reclining figures as references to the landscape and hills of Yorkshire where Moore was born. Moore’s art, however, was not always such modernism, but rather direct carving, which evolved whittling from a block of wood, in his early years. At his home in Much Hadham, Moore built up a collection of natural objects such as skulls, driftwood, pebbles and shells, that he would use to provide inspiration for organic forms.
During World War II, Moore was commissioned as a war artist, notably producing powerful drawings of Londoners sleeping in the London Underground while sheltering from the blitz. These drawings helped to boost Moore's international reputation, especially in America.

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

by Carolyn H.





Monet was born in Paris, France on November 14, 1840. All his life he had wanted to be an artist, but it wouldn't of happened without the help of his aunt, Madame Lecadre, who unlike his father, approved of his artistic studies. His father wanted him to become a grocer, since that's what his profession was at the time. Monet is most well-known for his style of painting called "impressionism". This name of the technique came about from one of Monet's paintings, called Impression Sunrise. This style became popular in the 1870's. Impressionism is when an artist uses dabs or strokes of paint to make the objects in the picture appear more natural to the eye from a farther distance. They would also mix the atmosphere in with the skyline by painting with "light".

Camille Doncieux was Monet's first wife. While married to her, he was severely poor and had two children, Jean ( who was born three years before their marriage in 1867) and Michel, who was born in 1878). After nine years of marriage, Camille died so Alice Hoschedé helps him take care of Monet's children in despite having six of her own children. He married her in 1892, one year after her own husbands death. In his later years, Monet began to have trouble with his eyesight, but continued to paint. About the same time of his failing eyesight, he began a series of paintings called Water Lilies which grew in popularity as well. On December 15, 1926, Monet died, 86 years old. To this day, many still carry on his impressionistic style and enjoy many of his paintings. To see more of his work today, the Dallas Museum of Art has a few, including The Pont Neuf, The Seine at Lavacourt, Valle Buona, Near Bordighera, and Water Lilies.