"Draped Reclining Mother and Baby" 1983 by Henry Moore
The New York Botanical Garden
May 24 – Nov. 2
Henry Moore called sculpture "an art of the open air." And especially after World War II, when he moved decisively into large-scale commissions, most of his sculpture was sited outdoors. Given the difficulty of shipping around monumental works, it's unusual to see any number of his big pieces gathered in one place. This show, a smaller version of an exhibition that was a great hit last fall and winter in London, distributes about 20 of them all around the Botanical Garden's 250 handsome acres. Not all of the pieces are winners. Moore had his sentimental side, and there are too many of his mawkish mother and child combinations in this show and not enough of his powerful two and three-part reclining figures. But those are here, too. And a setting of fields and gardens brings out beautifully the deep sources of his work in the forms of nature. If you miss the New York venue, this show reappears next year in Atlanta.