Curtis Moffat

Edwin Curtis Moffat (October 11, 1887 – 1949), better known as Curtis Moffat, was a London-based American abstract photographer, painter and modernist interior designer.

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 and Cecil Beaton 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, where he continued to paint.

Moffat was born in Brooklyn in 1887 into a wealthy New York City family, the son of Edwin Curtis Moffat Sr. (1853–1931) and Aline Adelaide Graves. Moffat moved to Brittany, France with his parents at an early age before being educated at St. Mark's School in the U.S.

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, 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.

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