Yousuf Karsh, Henry Moore (with sweater), 1949. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh. © Estate of Yousuf Karsh.
Yousuf Karsh, Henry Moore (with sweater), 1949. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh. © Estate of Yousuf Karsh.
Henry Moore: The Humanity of Urban Spaces in Postwar United States
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Tickets (Member / Nonmember)
In-Person $28 / $35
Livestream $16 / $20
Henry Moore’s sculpture arrived in the postwar American city at a moment of crisis, experimentation, and contradiction, when the utopian ideal of modernist urbanism enabled a corporate claim to space. Steel and glass towers surrounded by plazas proliferated in the 1950s and ’60s, promising to introduce civic clarity and order. Yet the new architecture was increasingly seen by critics and theorists as inhuman and empty, devoid of life, social utility, and civic value. In New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, and other cities, Moore’s first American patrons saw the potential of his work to alter the shape of urban space, invest it with meaning, and reorient the public. Join us for a discussion about how Moore’s abstract sculptures, grounded in nature, landscape, and body, could project an aspirational humanism into the vacant spaces of the modern city.
Christopher Ketcham, art historian
Course Packages
Purchase a ticket package for the full five-session “Abstracting Nature: Exploring Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore” course. Please note that this option is not available after the date of the first session.
Assistive listening system
Wheelchair accessible
Ticket Information
To order tickets by phone, call 1-800-440-6975 ($6 processing fee applies); to order in person, visit any MFA ticket desk.
Livestream Tickets
The livestream ticket gives access to a live feed of the event that can be watched remotely. You must be logged in to the account used to purchase the ticket in order to access the livestream on the Video Content page. Please log in at least 5 minutes before the start of the event to test your connection.
Livestream ticket holders must watch the event live; there is no recording of the event available for viewing at a later time.
Bag Checks
All bags are subject to inspection by Museum staff. Backpacks, large bags, all liquids including hand sanitizer and sunscreen, and outside food or drink are not permitted. Exceptions are made for medical or religious needs. All bags are strongly discouraged, and any bags larger than 11” x 15” must be checked in the Coat Room upon entry. Read our full bag check policy.