Henry Moore's coal mining drawings on show in Doncaster
HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD LRA collection of Henry Moore's coal mining drawings from the 1940s are to be exhibited in Doncaster.
Drawing in the Dark, at the Danum Gallery, Library and Museum, opens on 9 May and runs until 26 August.
Moore's sketches depict the work of his father as a miner in Castleford, West Yorkshire after he spent a week at Wheldale Colliery.
They represent the conditions which 750,000 miners endured during World War Two and beyond.
Nigel Ball, from Doncaster Council, said: "Doncaster has a proud mining heritage and I am delighted to welcome this special exhibition of coal mining drawings by Henry Moore to our city.
"This looks to be a fascinating insight into Moore's life," he added.
Art historian Chris Owen has written a book about Moore, who is best known as a sculptor, and the drawings, which he said were originally commissioned during World War Two with a "propaganda purpose" because "the numbers of workers in the mines at the beginning of the war dropped dramatically".
The project is curated by the University of Hertfordshire Arts and Culture and supported by Arts Council England.
The Danum Gallery is the only northern venue selected for the exhibition.
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