TORONTO—This Autumn, the Art Gallery of Ontario is celebrating an anniversary that hits a remarkable milestone. It’s been 50 years since the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre came into being. The AGO, Toronto’s modern art gallery, is at the very heart of the city, and the English artist Henry Moore’s work has inspired generations of art enthusiasts. Recognising its legacy, the City of Toronto has proclaimed November 13, 2024, as Henry Moore Day.
Created in late 1974, the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre sprang from a gift few received. The renowned artist Henry Moore gifted the museum 101 sculptures, 57 drawings, and 150 prints, which earned international headlines. The brainchild of Toronto architect John C. Parkin, the Centre was designed with Moore’s work in mind; today, it offers a changing exhibit of the artist’s prints, plaster casts, bronzes, and direct carvings in stone and wood.
Henry Moore’s deep devotion to direct carving and his sensitive study of the natural world have anchored his status as one of the key sculptors in the history of Western art,” said Adam Welch, Associate Curator of Modern Art at the AGO. “Within this light-filled space, visitors, artists, and students can explore the many facets of his artistic output, from large-scale plasters to the natural forms that fueled his creativity. It is among the most cherished facilities for modern art here in our city, and we look with great enthusiasm toward the next 50 years.”
Toronto’s association with Moore began in 1966 when his monumental bronze, Three Way Piece Number Two: Archer, was chosen by Finnish architect Viljo Revell to accompany the new City Hall. Its purchase was controversial; after the city refused to buy the work, the citizens of Toronto banded together to raise the funds themselves, and the sculpture has since become a symbol of the city’s cosmopolitanism.
The AGO houses the world’s most extensive public collection of Henry Moore’s art. “We are very pleased to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre, in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario and the City of Toronto,” said Godfrey Worsdale, Director of the Henry Moore Foundation. Moore’s magnificent gift—and his conviction that the experience of art should be shared and boundless—continues to resound.
The AGO has invited the community to share their memories and photos of time spent with Moore’s art on social media using the hashtag #MooreMemories. The gallery has become an incredibly popular space where people from Toronto and further afield can enjoy Moore’s moving and changed vision.