Henry Moore work sells for £3.6m

This eight feet long bronze sculpture produced by Yorkshire-born Henry Moore when he was 84 fetched £3.6m at auction from a mystery bidder.

By The Newsroom

Published 5th Feb 2010, 08:29 BST

Updated 5th Feb 2010, 08:29 BST

The sculpture, Reclining Figure, was produced by Castleford-born, Leeds-trained Moore in 1982, just four years before his death on August 31, 1986.

Moore produced a limited edition of nine of these Reclining Figures. One is owned by the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo in Caracas, Venezuela, while another is owned by the Henry Moore Foundation in Hertfordshire, where Moore lived and worked from the 1940s until his death.The whereabouts of the others are a mystery.

Auctioneers Sotheby's said: "The subject of the reclining figure, initially inspired by Mexican sculpture and explored in this monumental work, was one of Moore's chief pre-occupations throughout his long career. He has commented that 'from the very beginning the reclining figure has been my main theme.'