Why did Henry Moore draw coal miners in Castleford during World War II?

During World War II, a shortage of materials forced Henry Moore to focus primarily on drawing rather than sculpture. While he is well known for his series depicting Londoners sheltering in the London Underground during air raids, he also visited the colliery in Castleford, Yorkshire, to document coal miners at work.1

Moore chose this subject because his father had worked at that specific colliery. His drawings of the miners captured a sense of strength and dignity that mirrored the spirit he observed in his shelter drawings. These works were part of a broader shift in his artistic focus during the war years toward humanistic subject matter.12