British artist and sculptor Henry Moore designed this print for the textile firm Ascher Limited, founded by Zika and Lida Ascher, Czech émigrés who moved to London in 1939. Along with other British and European artists, Moore was asked by Ascher to design prints for dress fabrics in order to create more exciting textiles than those that had been available during the Second World War.

'Reclining Figures' is the closest of all Moore's textiles to his sculpture, and anticipates bronzes such as his Draped Reclining Figure, 1952-53, made for the Time / Life Building on Bond Street, London. But in his bronzes Moore's emphasis is on form, physical mass in space. In his textiles the lines of drapery begin by following the form of the figure, then completely dominate the design by flowing into the background and linking the repeating pattern of the figures into one fluid rhythm. This approach suits the idea of a fabric that can be worn, with the lines of the pattern also flowing around the person wearing the garment.