Influences

Henry Moore

George MacCann graduated from the Royal Academy in 1932 and was awarded a special prize, largely on the commendation of Henry Moore.

Moore, then eleven years his senior, was a young and influential lecturer in the department, and an inspiration which George MacCann acknowledged in a series of sensitively carved reclining figures that brought Belfast "up to date" with the new formalism later in the decade.

"Moore was a very fine teacher and an inspiring one," George MacCann told me. "He never interfered with the students' work. He had a studio on Haverstock Hill in Hampstead, where he invited us students on a Sunday for tea. I met Ivon Hitchens there. He also took us to the British Museum on Sundays and was very inspiring pointing out new things. He was very interested in Mexican sculpture. He was an unassuming man and tremendously sincere. Anyone who studied with him in those days was aware that he was a great sculptor. At the time I was there he was embroiled in a controversy over his work. Sir William Rothenstein stood by him. Moore was the first to admit that Jacob Epstein was carrying the torch. He admitted he owed a lot to Epstein for breaking down prejudice,"

Theo Snoddy, Belfast Newletter