Photograph. Paul B. Moses with his painting Ice House
Item
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Title
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Photograph. Paul B. Moses with his painting Ice House
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Description
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Paul B. Moses (1929 - 1966) was born in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, attended Lower Merion High School and became one of the first Black undergraduates at Haverford College. Despite facing racism and isolation, he excelled in languages and art, studying abroad in France with the support of Albert C. Barnes, MD. After serving in the U.S. Army, he taught at institutions including the Barnes Foundation, Lincoln University, and at the American Overseas School in Rome before earning a Masters and pursuing a doctorate in art history at Harvard, where his dissertation specialized in Degas’s etchings (Moses and Scharff 2023).
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A graduate of Cheney University, Alice Johnson married Paul in 1962. That same year, the couple moved to Chicago where he then joined the University of Chicago’s art department and became a distinguished, brilliant teacher, curator, and critic (Wikipedia contributors 2025e). Alongside his scholarship, he painted landscapes marked by sensitivity to light and form. Among these works was Ice House (c. 1956), the photo shown here, was a rustic scene that reflected his study of European Impressionism and his personal eye for the quiet beauty of everyday places.
Moses’s career was tragically cut short when he was murdered in a Chicago carjacking in 1966 at the age of 36. His legacy has since been honored through exhibitions such as “Paul B. Moses: Trailblazing Art Historian”, co-curated by his son Michael Moses and University of Chicago PhD student Stephanie Strother, which showcased his paintings, sketches, and letters. Just three years old when his father died, Michael has said that curating the exhibition helped him come to know his father through his art and personal possessions (Matei 2022). In 1983, an anonymous donor established the Paul B. Moses Scholarship Fund at Haverford College, awarded annually to students who exemplify “the character, talent and qualities of Paul Moses” (A Lasting Impact, n.d.).
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Contributor
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The Barnes Foundation
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Date Created
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(c. 1956)
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Creator
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Moses, Paul B.
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Rights
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The image belongs to Michael Moses. For permission: blkhawksfan23@yahoo.com
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Identifier
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Not in the Barnes Foundation holdings.
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Language
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eng
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Format
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Image
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Extent
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1 image
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Spatial Coverage
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Haverford, PA
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Is Part Of
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Michael A. Moses Collection
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Subject
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Artists, Black
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Carjacking
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Barnes, Albert C. (Albert Coombs), 1872-1951
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Haverford College
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University of Chicago
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Impressionism (Art)--French influences
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Photography
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Barnes Foundation
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Segregation
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Lincoln University (Pa.)
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Moses, Paul
Moses with Ice House.jpg