By the late 1940s Henry Moore had become a public institution. During the war years his style had undergone a dramatic return to order, from his shelter drawings through to his classically-inspired family groups. Influenced by the tensions caused by cold-war politics, Moore continued to respond to the fears and aspirations of the British nation throughout the 1950s.

For Moore the versatility of sitting figures suited the new civic themes he was exploring. He employed the pose when designing 'Warrior with Shield' and 'King and Queen', which was eventually acquired for the Hirshhorn museum in Washington. Dating from 1956 the present work relates to a number of small-scale sculptures featuring figures sitting upon benches, steps and plinths and leaning against curved walls. Although these generally have a more intimate quality, 'Seated Girl' possesses an air of noble dignity that was common to his public bronzes.

Stylistically this sculpture exemplifies a moment of transition for Moore. Whilst the woman’s delicate limbs and hands reveal an aptitude for naturalistic modeling, her jutting breastbone and the subsidence around the pelvis borrow from earlier Surrealist sculptures. The effect is comparable to a rolling movement throughout her torso that, in turn, creates a more dynamic profile. When refining this shape Moore would have started by developing small maquettes roughly the size of his hand, which he could easily rotate. In this way the sculptor ensured that the finished bronze possessed a multitude of interesting and contrasting vantage points.

By continually reinventing his approach Moore maintained his status as the leader of Modern British Sculpture. In particular he enjoyed a reciprocal relationship with a new generation of artists that included Kenneth Armitage, Reg Butler, and Lynn Chadwick. Associated with the term 'Geometry of Fear', their spiky and aggressively twisted sculptures resonate strongly with 'Seated Girl'.