The Art Gallery of Ontario is known internationally for its extraordinary and extensive collection of Henry Moore works. The Henry Moore Sculpture Centre at the AGO originally opened in 1974, to house Moore's original gift to the AGO, now totalling more than 900 sculptures and works on paper.
Visitors can now view Moore's plaster and bronze maquettes, and the stones and bones that inspired him. They can listen to Moore explaining why he became a sculptor and how bronzes are made from plaster, and hear exactly how Toronto's Mayor Givens lost an election over Moore's sculpture, The Archer. Also available is rare archival footage directing the installation of the centre in 1974, and of the arrival, crane and all, of Moore's eight-ton Large Two Forms, now a city landmark at our northeast corner. Organized into different self-contained stations, the centre engages the visitor in a variety of interactive activities.
Henry Moore has always been an important artist for the city of Toronto. In 1958, Finnish architect Viljo Revell won an international competition to design Toronto's City Hall. Revell admired the work of Moore and recommended that the city purchase one of his bronze sculptures for the new building. A controversy over cost erupted, and the sculpture, The Archer, became the most talked about work of art in the history of the city.