Oval with Points, 1969–70

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© The Henry Moore Foundation

http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/campus-art/objects/31464

Hear the Curator (y1969-128)

Perhaps equalled only by Alexander Calder, Henry Moore was most sought after in the second half of the twentieth century as a creator of monumental outdoor works. From its initial meeting in March 1968, the selection committee for Princeton University’s Putnam Collection gave priority to the search for a major bronze by the British artist. Fortuitously, Moore was coming to the United States that same year to receive an honorary degree from Columbia University, and he was invited to visit Princeton. In 1969, Oval with Points, then in maquette form, was selected unanimously by the committee from among three new sculptures. The sculpture resembles one of Moore’s favorite found objects—an elephant skull acquired in East Africa by the distinguished biologist Sir Julian Huxley and his wife, Juliette, which they had placed in their garden and ultimately gifted to Moore. Within a few short months of the installation—to the delight of the sculptor—the interior curves of the oval were visibly burnished from contact with bodies sitting on or sliding through it. The maquette that impressed Princeton’s selection committee is now in the collection of the Princeton University Art Museum.

A creative view of campus on a snowy day, courtesy of the Alumni Association of Princeton University. ‪#‎Princetagram‬

Alumni Association of Princeton University

‪#‎princetonu‬ ‪#‎princetagram‬

Henry Moore, British, 1898–1986

Oval with Points, 1969–70

Bronze

Main Campus Neighborhood

The John B. Putnam Jr. Memorial Collection, Princeton University

y1969-128

One of the most photographed sculptures on campus, Oval with Points has an amorphous shape that counters the formalism of Princeton's architecture. Henry Moore often found his inspiration in nature, and this work resembles an East African elephant skull kept in his studio. The inner curve is visibly burnished from people sitting on or sliding through it, a fact that delighted the artist.