

For Christmas, my daughter, Rachael, gave me a book about Henry Moore's house and studios, Hoglands at Perry Green. Henry and his wife Irina bought the house in the 1940's, as a place to live and work. Over the years, as he became more and more famous and successful, he bought the adjoining land and houses in the vicinity. Trees and garden settings were planted by Irina to form backcloths to Henry's sculptures. Outbuildings were converted into studios throughout the acres of ground they acquired.
Henry Moore was also a great collector of art, and this was showcased in their house. Many visitors, curators, collectors, artists and celebrities visited Henry Moore at Hoglands.
Today the house, studios and grounds can be visited by the public. It is also the home of the Henry Moore Foundation.
I'm certainly going to try and visit the place.
One thing that struck me was how, in the 1960's, the office in Hoglands was a huge centre of activity. Mrs Tinsley was in control of it for many years. A switchboard connected the studios. The art world came through her and that office to Henry Moore. The Moore family and staff lived in a structured world of home and work. It was very successful. There obviously was no internet in those days.
Today, there is ! And many thousands of you, all over the World, have visited my website. As always, I'd like to thank you and I am very grateful for your support, and interest.
There is a contact page on my website, and, I don't have a Mrs Tinsley, instead, I have an Apple iMac, ( my office !) and just like Henry Moore, it seems to be a centre of activity. Mainly used as a work tool, it gets nabbed by other members of the family, who have realised it's quicker than their laptops ! My family, as is normal, follow my career, my website,and also like to know what contacts people have made with me. Letters, or emails, I've received back from galleries and magazines etc, that have received my Facet book. My other daughter, Hope, bought me an iPad a while ago. It's a brilliant invention and great for surfing the internet and using email. I think, however that, as I've already said, that other members of my family sometimes use it more than me, and also use my email application. Mainly, because with Apple products, you don't have to wait ages, as you do with a laptop or P.C. to wait for it to boot and log in. Apple's Safari is instant, and email connection and the web is open to use within seconds. Can't praise it enough. I don't have the working space that Henry Moore enjoyed. My studio space (as you can see on my website), is limited, and my poor family have learned over the years, to close their eyes to my chaos and sort of tolerate the fact that their home will never be normal, and un-cluttered !
Henry Moore, had the luxury of physical, studio, space, to work and pursue his wonderful gift at Hoglands.
Check out the Henry Moore Foundation website, and how to visit his house Hoglands, at Perry Green, Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, England, on the web .
You can go to the (click here) MORE BITS ABOUT ME - ART page on my website and follow the Henry Moore link
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
God bless
Stephen
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