Edwin Curtis Moffat (October 11, 1887 – 1949) was a London-based American abstract photographer, painter and

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

er. Moffat studied painting in New York and in Paris before exhibiting his work in New York during World War I. He married the actress and poet Iris Tree, and the couple moved to London after the war, where Moffat took up abstract photography. He collaborated with

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

and

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...

on numerous occasions throughout his career. He opened a photographic studio in London in 1925. Four years later, he opened an interior design showroom and gallery, displaying a combination of modern, antique and African tribal furnishings. His home became a popular salon for artists, intellectuals and gourmands. He moved back to America in 1939 with his second wife, settling on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

, where he continued to paint.

Early years

Moffat was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in 1887 into a wealthy

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

family, the son of Edwin Curtis Moffat Sr. (1853–1931) and Aline Adelaide Graves. Moffat moved to

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with his parents at an early age before being educated at St. Mark's School in the U.S.Curtis Moffat biography
at the Victoria & Albert Museum website After a brief diplomatic career early in the new century, he studied painting in New York and was part of a group of artists including

George Bellows George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realism, American realist painting, painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. He became, according to the Columbus Museum of Art ...

, Robert Henri and John French Sloan. In 1913–1914, he studied at the Beaux arts in Paris. One man shows of his work were held in New York in 1916 and 1919. In 1916, he married actress-poet Iris Tree, the daughter of actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, in New York. A son, Ivan, born in Cuba in 1918, became a screenwriter. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

ended, Moffat and his wife settled in London, and he became interested in photography. In 1923 he went to Paris where he was involved with the Surrealists and the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

movement. He collaborated with

, with whom he developed "painting with light" 'Rayogram' compositions and other experimental techniques.Curtis Moffat
at the Factum Arte website In 1925 he opened a photographic studio with Olivia Wyndham in London called the "M Studio". His large and striking black and white portraits of friends such as the Sitwells, Lady Diana Cooper,

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

and Nancy Cunard influenced

, among others. Two exhibitions of his photographs were held in London in 1925 and 1926. No4 Fitzroy Sq

Interior design

In 1929, financed by the American millionaire Jock Whitney, he opened a gallery, Curtis Moffat Ltd., at 4

Fitzroy Square Fitzroy Square is a Georgian architecture, Georgian garden square, square in London, England. It is the only one in the central London area known as Fitzrovia. The square is one of the area's main features, this once led to the surrounding di ...

in London.Ivan Moffat's obituary
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', August 3, 2002. Two adjoining houses were converted into showrooms with a flat above designed by the architect Frederick Etchells. The showrooms combined modern interior design and lighting with one of the first major collections of African tribal sculpture in London. Objects for sale ranged from 16th century antiques to rugs by Edward McKnight Kauffer and Marion Dorn, and modern china, silver and glass. The insides of the cupboard doors were painted by Francis Wyndham. Moffat undertook interior design commissions, often collaborating with John Duncan Miller. In 1930 one of the rooms was converted to a picture gallery and run by Freddie Mayor. Opening with a show of work by

Vanessa Bell Vanessa Bell (née Stephen; 30 May 1879 – 7 April 1961) was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury Group and the sister of Virginia Woolf (née Stephen). Early life and education Vanessa Stephen was the eld ...

and Duncan Grant among others, its last show, "Since Cezanne", featured artists such as

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

and Modigliani. In 1933, due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, financial backing was withdrawn and the gallery closed.

Later years

Moffat continued to live and work at Fitzroy Square. He and Iris Tree had been divorced in 1932. He returned to portrait photography and also undertook commercial colour photography. He began experimenting with the complex and delicate carbro three colour process. A one-man show of his colour photographs, "Still Lifes and Compositions with Light", was held at the Mayor Gallery in 1925. His work was included in the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

exhibition "Photography 1839–1937". On 16 April 1936 in London, he married Kathleen Allan, who had worked with him for some years in his studio. The couple had a daughter, Penelope, in 1938. Moffat's original and eclectic taste in art and design also extended into the area of gastronomy. He was an early member of the Wine and Food Society and the Saintsbury Club, and a close friend of André Simon. His table was famous for its wine and food, the choice of the latter being governed by his selection of the former, according to his son, Ivan. His large house in Fitzroy Square, perhaps the first and most original of the so-called modern interiors of the late Twenties and early Thirties, was the meeting place for many of the celebrated painters, writers, critics and designers of the day. Early in 1939, Moffat returned to New York where he held a one-man show of his paintings. He and his family then settled on

in 1940, where he continued to paint until he died in 1949 in

Edgartown, Massachusetts Edgartown is a town on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, for which it is the county seat. The town's population was 5,168 at the 2020 census. It was once a major whaling port, with historic houses ...

, on the Vineyard. His photographic archive and papers relating to his gallery, Curtis Moffat Ltd., are held and exhibited in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

in London. A book, edited by Martin Barnes with essays by Mark Haworth-Booth and James Stevenson, ''Curtis Moffat: Silver Society. Experimental Photography and Design, 1923–1935'', was published by the V&A and Steidl Publishers, in 2016.

References

External links

Collection of articles about Moffat at the V&A MuseumCurtis Moffat photographic portraits
at the National Portrait Gallery website
Wedding announcement of Moffat and Tree
in ''The New York Times'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Moffat 1887 births 1949 deaths 20th-century American photographers Artists from Brooklyn People from Edgartown, Massachusetts American expatriates in the United Kingdom American interior designers American expatriates in France American abstract photographers

Early years

Interior design

Later years

References

Further reading

External links