Draped Seated Woman
- Artist: Henry Moore OM, CH
- Date: 1957–8, cast c.1958–63
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: object: 2280 x 2300 x 1040 mm, 541 kg
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Draped Seated Woman” by Henry Moore. A bronze monolith that measures roughly 2.3 m across on each side and stands about a meter tall, it weighs more than 500 kg. The figure sits with its legs tucked under a draped cloak that folds over her shoulder in a simple yet striking gesture.
Moore cast this form between 1958 and 1963 after first sculpting the model in 1957–58. Two identical casts now inhabit two urban spaces: one in Wuppertal, Germany, the other on a street corner in London’s East End. Placing it in a deprived area was part of a post‑war civic renewal that aimed to inject monumental art into everyday life.
Notice how the drapery falls almost like a cloud over the seated body—no details, just smooth, clean planes. The sculpture feels both weighty and airy at once; its bronze surface catches light differently as you move around it, hinting at subtle folds even though the surface is largely unworked.
In its simplicity Moore invites us to pause and feel the quiet presence of a seated woman in a public square, an invitation to sit beside her and listen to the city around.
See it in person
Draped Seated Woman is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
