# Edward Branco Moses artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/edward-branco-moses/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T21:58:51.947Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1926-04-09
- Death date: 2018-01-17
- Nationality: American
- Movements: Postwar West Coast art
- Common media: painting, printmaking, drawing, collage

## About Edward Branco Moses

Ed Moses (1926–2018), born Edward Branco Moses in Long Beach, California, was an American painter, printmaker, and collage artist who became a central figure in postwar West Coast art. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he studied art in the Los Angeles area and spent time in New York, Virginia, and San Francisco before returning to Los Angeles in 1961, where he remained a vital presence for decades. Moses worked across painting, drawing, printmaking, and collage, refusing to settle on a single signature style and instead pursuing restless formal experimentation throughout his career. His work is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and is documented by major authority files including the Getty ULAN, the Library of Congress, VIAF, and the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie. Collectors encounter Moses's work most often in the Post-War and Contemporary Art market.

## Common works and media

Moses produced paintings on canvas and panel, drawings on paper, collages combining mixed media, and prints including screenprints and lithographs. Collectors may encounter abstract and gestural compositions reflecting his engagement with postwar West Coast art movements. Works range from unique paintings and works on paper to editioned prints; condition, edition size, and signature presence are typical appraisal considerations.

## Market and appraisal context

Ed Moses's work appears at auction primarily under Post-War and Contemporary Art and Contemporary Prints categories. Key valuation factors include medium (oil on canvas versus works on paper or prints), period (early postwar Los Angeles works may carry premiums), provenance quality, and exhibition or publication history. Moses's long career and stylistic range mean that attribution of date, series, and medium is important. His institutional representation at MoMA and documentation in the Getty ULAN and Library of Congress authority files support provenance research. Appraisers should consult comparable public auction records, condition reports, and edition details for prints before drawing conclusions.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines structured identity data from the Getty Union List of Artist Names, Library of Congress, VIAF, Wikidata, RKD, and MoMA with public auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots where those records are available. Biographical claims are cross-referenced against multiple authority files.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85262541
- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/57947
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1293064
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/95773654/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500015112
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/4121
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Moses_(artist)