Oswald Moser

(British, 1874-1953)

The Dwarf: Scene from the Tales of Richoux diameter oval

Footnotes

Provenance
Private collection, Liverpool (c.1920s)
Private collection, Italy
Acquired at auction by the father of the present owner in the early 1960s
Private collection, Italy

Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, 1920, no.278
Paris, Salon, 1922, no.1305

Literature
International Studio, Vol.71, New York, 1920, p.131, illustrated

Oswald Moser was born in Bedford Square, London and was the ninth child and youngest son of Robert and Elizabeth Moser. He studied at St John's Wood Art School, exhibiting widely between 1904 and 1940. The Paris Salon awarded him an Honourable Mention in 1907, and a Silver Medal in 1922 for the present lot.

The Dwarf: scene from the Tales of Richoux showcases Moser's diverse range of subject matter and style. The unusual scene seduces the viewer into a strange, colourful and mysterious world, coaxed in by the central dwarf figure who smiles mischievously out of the composition, directly at the viewer. The figures are closely bound within the confines of the circular composition, however, do not seemingly interact with one another. The vivid palette and busy composition give the viewer a strong sense of movement, with laughter and music emanating from the scene. The figure in the lower left is almost certainly a self-portrait of the artist, comparable to his 1938 Self-Portrait.

During World War I, Moser served as an officer in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, where he also worked under marine artist Norman Wilkinson (1878-1971) to create dazzle camouflage for British ships to confuse the enemy at sea.

In 1937, his entry of The Lord of Creation to the Royal Academy's Annual Exhibition caused a public scandal and was subsequently removed from the walls. Later sold by Bonhams San Francisco in 2007, the painting depicts a crowned man wearing a collar and chain, being pulled along by a beautiful and resolute woman. The likeness of the crowned figure to Edward VIII was overwhelming, who had only the year before abdicated the throne in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite, Wallis Simpson (1896-1986). The Royal Academy told Moser that the painting 'appears certainly to allude to an affair which is a matter of especially painful regret to the public.' Moser denied the accusations, arguing that any similarities were coincidental and that the crown was 'purely symbolical of man's supposed superiority over birds and beasts.'

Moser married Mary Louise Murray, with whom he had one daughter, Denise Margot Moser (b.1916).