About the Artist

Michael J. Moore grew up in Stoughton, MA, served in the Marines during the Vietnam War, and worked as a commercial fisherman in New Bedford, spending time offshore lobstering and on scallop boats. Between fishing trips, he lived on a farm in Stowe, Vermont.

During the summers, artist Frank Mason brought a class from the Art Students League of New York to Stowe to paint en plein air. Watching Mason and his students work inspired Moore to pursue a career in art. He moved to New York City, enrolled at the Art Students League, and studied under Mason for eight years while bartending to support himself.

After completing his studies, Moore moved to Nantucket, where he painted full-time and started a family. He later moved to Strafford, VT, where he and his wife raised their two sons before settling in Dedham, MA.

A classical oil painter, Moore prepares his own mediums, panels, and canvases, allowing the natural tone of the surface to inform his paintings. While he often works from photographs or his imagination, his compositions are rooted in the classical tradition and a deep connection to his surroundings.

Moore currently lives in Dedham with his wife, Caroline, and their two sons, Tom and Will. He teaches and paints at the Motherbrook Arts and Community Center in Dedham and exhibits his work seasonally at the East End Gallery in Nantucket.