Three-Way Piece: Points

Three-Way Piece No.1: Points (LH 533) is a bronze abstract sculpture by Henry Moore. Three full-size sculptures were cast in 1967, one installed on the Columbia University campus in Upper Manhattan, New York City, and the others at Des Moines Art Center, and Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.

Casts of a related bronze sculpture, Three Way Piece No.2: Archer, are displayed at Nathan Phillips Square outside Toronto City Hall, and in the National Gallery, Berlin.

Description

The sculpture is based on a piece flint with three prongs.^[1] Moore intended to create a sculpture that could be placed in a variety of different orientations, and which would still work when viewed from different angles. The title refers to the points of the flint, and the intention that the sculpture would be effective in three orientations.

Moore first created a plaster maquette (LH 531) in 1964. Moore scaled the maquette up into a larger plaster version, now held by the Art Gallery of Ontario but damaged beyond repair in 1974, which was cast as a 30 inches (760 mm) bronze working model (LH 532) in an edition of seven (plus one artists model) in 1964. One example is held by the Tate Gallery in London. This model was scaled up to the full-size sculpture (LH 533), cast in an edition of three. The full-size bronze was too large and heavy to be moved into different positions by one person.^[2]

The full-size bronze sculpture is approximately 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and has a diameter of 7 feet 8 inches (2.34 m). The three casts are displayed at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia,^[3] and at Columbia University,^[4] with the third at Des Moines Art Center since 1998.^[5]

• 
  Columbia
• 
  Philadelphia

Moore used a similar process to create a second three-way sculpture, known as Three Way Piece No.2: Archer, with a similar edition of seven plus one working models (LH 534) and two full-size casts (LH 535): one installed at Nathan Phillips Square outside Toronto City Hall,^[6] and the other in the National Gallery, Berlin.^[7][8]

• 
  Toronto
• 
  Berlin

Columbia cast

The example at Columbia University has a granite base which measures approximately 2 feet, 8 inches and has a diameter of 7 feet, 7 inches.^[9] It was dedicated on October 3, 1973. It was surveyed and deemed "treatment needed" by Smithsonian Institution's "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" program in February 1993.^[9]

References

External links

• Three Way Piece: Points, 1967 at cultureNOW

Henry Moore
Sculptures	Reclining Figure 1938 Three Standing Figures 1947 Reclining Figure: Festival King and Queen Draped Reclining Figure, 1952–53 Large Interior Form, 1953-54 Reclining Figure: External Form 1953–1954 Upright Motive No. 1: Glenkiln Cross Seated Woman, 1957 Draped Seated Woman 1957–58 Draped Reclining Woman 1957–58 Knife Edge Two Piece 1962–65 Three-Piece Reclining Figure No. 2: Bridge Prop Man Enters the Cosmos Three-Way Piece: Points Two-Piece Reclining Figure No. 9 Nuclear Energy Spindle Piece Three-Piece No. 3: Vertebrae (Working Model) Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae Reclining Figure 1969–70 Two-Piece Reclining Figure: Points Sheep Piece 1971–72 Large Four Piece Reclining Figure 1972–73 Hill Arches 1973 Goslar Warrior 1973–1974 Three-Piece Reclining Figure: Draped 1975 The Arch 1979–1980
Assistants	Anthony Caro Phillip King Richard Wentworth Isaac Witkin
Associated with	Barbara Hepworth
Supporters	Kenneth Clark
Institutions	Henry Moore Foundation