Charles Simonton Moffett

Charles Simonton Moffett Jr. (1945–2015) was an American art curator.

Early life and education

Born in Washington, D.C., Moffett was raised in a Navy family; his grandfather, Rear Adm. William A. Moffett, was an important figure in the development of naval aviation.^[1]

Moffett attended St. George's School in Rhode Island and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Middlebury College in 1967.^[1] His early exposure to art included visits to museums such as the Louvre during his father's official trips abroad.^[1] He later enrolled in the master's program at New York University Institute of Fine Arts, although he did not complete his doctoral dissertation.^[1][2]

Career

During his career, Moffett held positions at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Sotheby-Parke Bernet Galleries, and the H. Shickman Gallery.^[1][2] At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he worked on projects involving Dutch and Flemish paintings and curated exhibitions featuring artists such as Degas and Van Gogh.^[1] At the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, he organized an exhibition titled "The New Painting: Impressionism 1874–1886," which examined aspects of the Impressionist movement.^[1][3] He authored a book of the same name.^[4][5] He also contributed essays to exhibition catalogs that have been referenced by art historians.^[1]

After leaving Sotheby's, Moffett worked as a private art adviser.^[1] Upon his death, he bequeathed 75 works of art to his alma mater Middlebury College. In 2017, the college organized a posthumous exhibit entitled "A Story of Art: Gifts from the Collection of Charles S. Moffett ’67 and Lucinda Herrick".^[6]

Personal life

Moffett was married twice and had two children from his second marriage.^[1] His son Charles is also a curator.^[7]