Henry Moore made a series of sculptures named Helmet Head beginning in the 1950s. These objects, which suggest an inner form within a casing that is at once protective and confining, were made in response to his memories of war. The young Henry Moore had fought in the First World War before being wounded in the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917. Later, he was appointed an official war artist during the Second World War. When Moore began working on the Helmet series, a new and even greater threat to civilization presented itself in the form of the Cold War and the very real danger of nuclear annihilation. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
