Three Piece Reclining Figure: New location for iconic Henry Moore sculpture at University of Leeds proposed

Students returning to campus after the summer break might notice a big change, as the university is planning to relocate one of its iconic sculptures, Leeds artist Henry Moore’s Three Piece Reclining Figure.

The public art piece is currently sitting within the Parkinson Building, but has historically been sitting outside, which it has had in common with similar pieces of work by its creator. 

In a planning application submitted to Leeds City Council on July 31, 2023, the university wrote: “We are proposing to move it from its current location to a new location in Chancellor’s Court, on the edge of a planted area surrounded by the core of the University’s 1960s Brutalist area of campus. 

“The proposal is that it sit between the Roger Stevens lecture theatre building and the Maths, Earth and Environment building, which are linked by an overhead walkway, the supports of which would frame the view of the sculpture.

“As a major piece of public art on campus, it is appropriate to place [the sculpture] in a prominent location. The location in Chancellors Court, a key hub of the campus, fulfils this.

“The sculpture presently sits on a steel framed and stainless-steel sheet clad plinth. This is to be either clad in stone or re-made in concrete, more fitting of the rugged materials of both the surrounding buildings and of the sculpture itself.“

A proposal to move the sculpture was previously the subject of a now expired planning application. The new proposal is essentially the same, with the sculpture in the same location but visually set ‘within’ the planted area to the side of the walkway instead of directly beneath the walkway as previously proposed.

The university added about the proposed move: “We intend to install the sculpture here as part of the University’s commitment to the display of 20th Century art on campus for the benefit of the public. 

“The Henry Moore sculpture was cast in 1963 by Castleford born Henry Moore at the same time as the cast in-situ Roger Stevens Building, Maths, Earth and Environment building and EC Stoner Building were being constructed. 

“The sculpture was intended for public engagement and enjoyment within the urban environment and was previously situated in the heart of the ivy league Brown University, Rhode Island, USA. 

“The sculpture will complement the Chamberlain, Powell and Bon designed brutalist concrete buildings surrounding Chancellors Court as the sculpture, like the architecture, represents a key point in the changing political and economic environment of post-war Britain. 

“This ‘transitional age’ heralded a new dawn for the enhanced social role of the art in the public sphere, distinguished by new conceptions of scale and purpose for civic sculpture and architecture in particular. This is emulated by both the sculpture and surrounding architecture of the same era.” 

Before the sculpture can be moved, a decision has to be made by Leeds City Council, which is expected to happen by Monday September 25.