Monumental nature: Kew to host largest outdoor exhibition of Henry Moore's sculptures

Henry Moore believed "sculpture is an art of the open air" and that his works should be seen in "almost any landscape, rather than in or on the most beautiful building".

- Dalya Alberge

Now the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is planning the world's largest outdoor exhibition devoted to the miner's son who became one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century, it will announce today.

Thirty of Moore's monumental sculptures will be on show across the 130-hectare (320-acre) landscape of the Unesco world heritage site, with its vistas and historic glasshouses.

A further 90 works - from carvings to drawings - will fill Kew's Shirley Sherwood Gallery, while its wild botanic garden at Wakehurst in West Sussex will show his sculptures alongside newly commissioned pieces from contemporary artists.

The exhibition, titled Henry Moore: Monumental Nature, will run from May to September 2026 and will reflect his lifelong fascination with natural forms. He once said: "Nature produces the most amazing varieties of shapes, patterns and rhythms... But merely to copy nature is no better than copying anything else. It is what the artist makes of his observations... that is important."