Henry Moore Studios & Gardens

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Situated on the site of Moore's former home and studios in Perry Green, rural Hertfordshire, Henry Moore Studios & Gardens is the headquarters of the Henry Moore Foundation. The estate is open seasonally to everyone, with an admission fee.

Henry and Irena Moore moved to Perry Green during the Second World War after their street in Hampstead was bombed, renting part of a farmhouse called 'Hoglands'.[2] Though originally they planned to return to London when the war ended, they ended up staying in Perry Green for the rest of their lives. As Moore became more famous and sold more works over the following years, he bought Hoglands, followed by gradually buying more land and buildings in the surrounding area which he converted into studios for making different kinds of artwork.

Around twenty of Moore's large-scale sculptural works are on display at Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, often changing depending on whether they are loaned elsewhere for exhibitions. The gardens span more than 70 acres, including Irena Moore's flower gardens, fruit trees, landscaped lawns, and less formal gardens and fields shared with local sheep.

There is a large, modern and fully accessible visitor centre, with a cafe and interpretation room.

Visitors can explore Moore's former studios, which have been preserved as the artist would have used them in his lifetime. The studios include:[3]

Top Studio – Moore's primary workspace after moving to Perry Green, now preserved as a carving studio.
Etching Studio – converted from the old village shop and used by Moore to experiment in printmaking.
Yellow Brick Studio – a multifunctional space used variously as a sculpture store, a space for photography and showing work to clients, and primarily as a carving studio.
Plastic Studio – Moore often used temporary plastic, metal-framed structures while working on large-scale sculpture outdoors. One such structure is preserved on site, with examples of artworks and tools Moore worked with inside.
Bourne Maquette Studio – Moore lined the walls of this studio with hundreds of smaller models and his ‘library of natural forms’ – the collection of bones, stones, shells and driftwood which captured his imagination and informed his work.
The Summer House – a wooden summer house in which Moore produced drawings, originally mounted on a turntable so that Moore could always find the best source of light.
Alongside the studios, the grounds also include:

Hoglands – the artist's restored home.
The Aisled Barn – a sixteenth-century timber-framed barn, which has been converted to display nine large tapestries produced by Moore and skilled weavers from West Dean Studio.
Sheep Field Barn – a gallery space with changing exhibitions, which is currently being refurbished to add an educational workshop space.
The Henry Moore Archive – a modern archive purpose-built to contain over 750,000 objects and documents relating to Moore, dating back to 1914.

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