Henry Moore created his 1957 sculpture Draped Seated Woman (or ‘Old Flo’, as she is known) to reflect his wartime experiences during the London blitz. Seven casts were created, and copies were placed in museums and collections in Wuppertal, Brussels, Yale University, Melbourne and Jerusalem. The artist’s copy is displayed at the Tate, on long-term loan from a private collector.
Moore sold one copy of the sculpture to London County Council for the sum of £7,400. As a well-known socialist, he agreed the discount price on the understanding that it would be displayed in a public space, so that the lives of those living in a socially deprived area might be enriched. Old Flo was placed in the Stepney Green estate of Stifford, which in 1961 accommodated around 1700 people.
In 1997, shortly before the demolition of the housing estate (which is now the East London Borough of Tower Hamlets) Old Flo was transferred on long-term loan to Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
The sculpture became the subject of a protracted legal battle for ownership with Bromley council, and in 2015 Tower Hamlets was declared the legal owner.  Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs, declared after the ruling that his predecessor, Lutfur Rahman, was wrong to sell the sculpture. Rahman was convicted of electoral fraud in April 2015, and forced out of office.
The sculptor’s daughter, Mary Moore, said that selling the piece was “against the spirit of Henry Moore’s original sale to London County Council at a favourable price on the understanding that it would be placed in east London”.
The sculpture is estimated to be worth around £20m and Tower Hamlets Council has said it will be displayed at Canary Wharf from October 2017.
John Biggs said: “Whilst I would have loved to see Old Flo returned to her old home in Stepney her considerable value means we’ve had to find a safe and secure home for her for the next five years.  My hope is after that she can move even closer into our community, possibly at the new Civic Centre in Whitechapel when it is complete.  In the meantime Canary Wharf will be a great and accessible home for Old Flo allowing her to once again add to Tower Hamlets’ already enviable reputation as a creative and cultural borough.â€
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