Henry Moore: Sculptural Process and Public Identity

In 1932 Henry Moore became involved in the formation of a new artistic coalition. The brainchild of painter Paul Nash, Unit One sought to exhibit and champion the work of a diverse group of artists, architects and designers for the furtherance of a British school of modern art. The group’s first exhibition took place at the Mayor Gallery, London, in April 1934, and it subsequently toured to six cities including Swansea, Manchester and Belfast.

Owing to the diverse interests of its members, the group found achieving a consensus difficult, and in 1934 new elections were held to decide membership of the new committee. As Herbert Read’s announcement states, only Paul Nash and Henry Moore received the unanimous vote required to secure their place on the committee. Nash and Moore invited the architect Wells Coates and the critic Read to join the committee, but by late May 1935 it was decided that further attempts at re-organising the group were futile.