Spencer Moseley

Spencer Moseley was a pivotal figure in the Washington art scene. He taught for 26 years at the University of Washington, also serving as director of the School of Art and acting director of the Henry Art Gallery. In addition, as a dedicated advocate for Northwest art he wrote a number of publications on Northwest artists. Moseley trained at the University of Washington and then with the legendary modernist Fernand Léger (1881–1955) in Paris. Though he created a large body of paintings and prints he rarely exhibited or sold his work.

As a teacher, working artist, and arts advocate, Moseley was intimately aware of the rapidly changing art world of the 20th century. He treated the numerous shifting styles at mid-century as a vocabulary he could use interchangeably as the mood took him. His works embraced modernism, abstraction, cubism, pop and op art, and a variety of variations throughout his career. Common to all his works was bold color and strong outlines: objects and shapes in his paintings often have an almost three-dimensional impact.