Affected by arthritis, from 1980 onwards Henry Moore became increasingly focused on drawing. He saw it as his ‘essential activity’, creating independent artworks that were not related to his sculptures. ‘Teatime’ is one such piece.

The beautifully coloured drawing shows a tender moment between two figures. Placed in an unidentified space there is an air of mystery in the dark washes of ink in the background. During this period Moore created a number of sketches of seated or reclining figures in varying degrees of abstraction. In ‘Teatime’ Moore pairs back the figures to their elemental forms with smooth organic curves, creating a universality in their simplicity.

In 1981, the year Moore created ‘Teatime’, the British Council staged the then largest exhibition of his work. With nearly 600 works included, the exhibition toured Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona, drawing in over 250,000 visitors. It was also during this period that Moore was working on his own museum, with The Henry Moore Sculpture Gallery opening in 1982.

‘Teatime’ was first in the collection of Dominion Gallery in Montreal. Owned by Max Stern, the gallery put on some of the most major exhibitions of both up and coming Canadian artists and established figures such as Rodin, Marini and Arp.