Conceived in 1953, Reclining Figure No. 2 is an example of one of the most prominent themes in Henry Moore’s career: the reclining figure. Moore had an ‘absolute obsession’ with the reclining figure, using it as a site of endless experimentation and innovation; as he stated in 1968, ‘From the very beginning the reclining figure has been my main theme. The first one I made was around 1924, and probably more than half of my sculptures since then have been reclining figures’ (quoted in A. Wilkinson, ed., Henry Moore: Writings and Conversations, Aldershot, 2002, p. 212). Propped up on her right elbow, appearing alert and attentive, Reclining Figure No. 2 belongs to a series of six works of this type – all of which recline in this pose – that Moore created between 1952 and 1954.