Henry Moore and Czechoslovak Art after 1945 LUJZA KOTOČOVÁ – PAVLÍNA MORGANOVÁ (EDS.)

Henry Moore and Czechoslovak Art after 1945 looks at Moore’s influence on Czechoslovak sculpture of the second half of the 20th century within the broader social, political and art-historical context. Through a detailed chronology and two expert studies, it explores the diplomatic framework and other mechanisms involved in the presentation and reception of his art during the Cold War, along with developments in sculpture under the specific conditions of state socialism. The authors interrogate Henry Moore’s stylistic influence and look at the history of his exhibitions in the former Eastern Bloc. The book was published on the occasion of an eponymous exhibition organised in 2024–2025 by the Gallery of Modern Art in Hradec Králové. 

“Moore influenced the generation of sculptors to which I belong more than anyone else. In the late 1950s he was one of the first world-class sculptors whom we saw through the half-open door after years of isolation.” 

Olbram Zoubek, “Naši sochaři o Moorovi”, Svět v obrazech, 1966

Henry Moore and Czechoslovak Art after 1945

Editors: Lujza Kotočová, Pavlína Morganová
Texts: Lujza Kotočová, Zuzana Krišková, Pavlína Morganová
Timeline: Czechoslovakia: Lujza Kotočová
Timeline: Eastern Bloc: Lujza Kotočová, Daniel Véri, Alina Șerban
Translation: Stephan von Pohl
Graphic design and layout: Adéla Svobodová
Pre-press: Zdeněk Franc
Printed by: H.R.G. spol. s r. o.

Published as part of GMU’s Exhibition Catalogues and Resources Series, on the occasion of the exhibition Henry Moore and Czechoslovak Art after 1945 (Henry Moore a československé umění po roce 1945), held at the Gallery of Modern Art in Hradec Králové from 21 June 2024 to 19 January 2025. Published with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, The Henry Moore Foundation, the State Fund for Culture of the Czech Republic and the City of Hradec Králové, with expert support from the Institute of the Present, Bucharest, and The Museum of Fine Arts – Central European Research Institute for Art History (KEMKI), Budapest.

Published by Galerie moderního umění v Hradci Králové and Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze, Vědecko-výzkumné pracoviště AVU, Hradec Králové – Praha 2024
First edition
144 pages
ISBN 978-80-88659-08-2 (Galerie moderního umění v Hradci Králové)
ISBN 978-80-88366-70-6 (Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze)

Book preview (PDF)