The sculptor is here looking, it has been said, at the human form metaphorically: the figure is as much Nature as Woman, with its supporting arm and shoulder “ shaped like a blunt unyielding promontory”. Moore himself chose the site for the Figure, and his choice caused no little surprise at the time. He wanted it to be looked at against the skyline, in contrast to the common assumption of the time that a piece of sculpture should be discreetly enclosed, whether by building or vegetation.

The Reclining Figure resonates with me every...