Moore’s international reputation continued to escalate with major exhibitions in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. The year before the Biennale, in 1946-7, he became the first British artist to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Moore viewed the exhibition as a real turning point, admitting that “I doubt that one would have won the International Sculpture prize.. without the.... impetus that The Museum of Modern Art retrospective provided ... Now ... a good three-quarters of my work is in America”. It was a resounding success with more visitors than the museum’s blockbuster Chagall exhibition the year previously. MoMA’s continuous support and display of Moore’s sculpture helped instigate the spread of biomorphic forms in popular American design, with his natural shapes appearing in everything from furniture to salt and pepper shakers.
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