Helmet, sculpture by Henry Moore

Acquisition of rare, historically important lead sculpture (29.1 x 18 x 16.5 excluding base) by Britain’s greatest twentieth-century sculptor. Made during the early months of the Second World War, The Helmet is a significant work in Moore’s oeuvre, since it is the first of his sculptures to introduce two-piece exterior / interior forms, a theme which preoccupied him in later years. A strange figure stands inside the helmet which is half-protective and half-menacing. Moore described the helmet motif as ‘One form inside another, so you get the mystery of not entirely knowing the form inside... it’s rather like armour which protects - the outer shell protecting the softer shell inside.’ Purchased by Private Treaty Sale, with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (£150,000), the National Art Collections Fund (£50,000) and the Henry Moore Foundation (£25,000).