Oval with Points

Oval with Points
at the Henry Moore Foundation in Perry Green, Hertfordshire
Artist	Henry Moore
Year	1968 to 1970
Catalogue	LH 596[1]
Medium	Plaster and bronze
Dimensions	332 cm (131 in)

Oval with Points is a series of enigmatic abstract sculptures by British sculptor Henry Moore, made in plaster and bronze from 1968 to 1970, from a 14-centimetre (5.5 in) maquette in 1968 (LH 594) made in plaster and then cast in bronze, through a 110-centimetre (43 in) working model in 1968–1969 (LH 595) also made plaster and then cast in bronze, to a full-size 332-centimetre (131 in) bronze version cast in 1969 (LH 596).

The sculpture is a flattened oval ring with rounded edges, pierced by a large hole. The inside edge of the hole has two protrusions rising from opposite sides and narrowing to sharp points that almost meet at the centre of the hole, creating a sense of energy and dynamic tension. The points divide the hole into two areas, a smaller one above and a larger one below, like a figure 8, with the shape of the void sometimes interpreted as resembling a human form with a head and a torso.

The beginnings of the sculpture can be traced in Moore's works back to a sculpture made in 1939–40, Three Points, and some drawings from 1940. Moore was often inspired by

Moore made a plaster maquette of Oval with Points (LH 594) in 1968, which was then cast in bronze in an edition of 9+1 (nine castings plus an artist's copy). It measures 16.4 by 13.9 by 9.4 centimetres (6.5 in × 5.5 in × 3.7 in). The plaster maquette and the bronze artist's copy, cast 0, are held by the Henry Moore Foundation in Perry Green, Hertfordshire. Another example is at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Moore increased the scale of the work in 1968–69, to create Working Model for Oval With Points (LH 595) measuring 118 by 92 by 54 centimetres (46 in × 36 in × 21 in). The sculpture was originally modelled in plaster, which is now held at the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Finally, in 1969, Moore increased the scale again to create a full-size bronze version (LH 596) which is 332 centimetres (131 in) high. It was cast in an edition of 6+1 (six plus one artist's model) by Morris Singer. Examples of the full size work are displayed at:

• the Henry Moore Foundation, in Perry Green, Hertfordshire (cast 0)
• at Princeton University, on a site of which was formerly the location of Reunion Hall before it was demolished in 1966 (cast 1)
• the centre of a fountain in Exchange Square in Hong Kong (cast 3)
• across from Dorrian Commons Park in Columbus, Ohio^[4][5] (cast 4)
• the Corniche Road in Jeddah (cast5) (acquired in 1977, along with a cast of Large Spindle Piece and Three Piece Reclining Figure No .1) )
• outside the Kunsthalle Bielefeld (cast 6)

• 
  Part of the Working Model in Toronto
• 
  Exchange Square, Hong Kong
• 
  Princeton
• 
  Kunsthalle Bielefeld
• 
  Columbus

• List of sculptures by Henry Moore

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oval with Points 1968-70 (LH 596).

• Celebrating Moore: Works from the Collection of the Henry Moore Foundation, p. 293
• Maquette (LH 594)
  • Plaster maquette, cast a, Henry Moore Foundation
  • Bronze maquette, cast 0, Henry Moore Foundation
• Working model (LH 595)
  • Plaster working model, cast a, Henry Moore Foundation
  • Plaster working model, cast b, Henry Moore Foundation
  • Bronze working model, cast 0, Henry Moore Foundation
  • Bronze working model, cast 00, Henry Moore Foundation
  • Museum of Modern Art, New York
  • San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• Full size (LH 596)
  • Cast 0, Henry Moore Foundation
  • Cast 1, Princeton
  • Princeton University Art Museum
  • Cast 3, Hong Kong
  • Cast 5, Jeddah
  • Jeddah Sculpture Museum
  • Cast 6, Kunsthalle Bielefeld
  • Oval with Points Kunsthalle Bielefeld, cast 6, Henry Moore Foundation