Biography

Barry Moser, who describes himself as an illustrator, printer, painter, printmaker, designer, essayist, and teacher, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1940. He was educated the Baylor School, a private military academy, from which he graduated in 1958. After high school, he attended Auburn University and the University of Chattanooga, and completed graduate work at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1970. During this time, he studied with George Cress, Leonard Baskin, Fred Becker, and Jack Coughlin.

In 1967, Moser moved to Massachusetts, and established Pennyroyal Press in North Hatfield, Massachusetts three years later. Named for a magical plant that is common to the gardens of the practitioners of the so-called Dark Arts, Barry chose the name because the art of printing is often called the Black Art. Coupled with the desire to produce regal books with only pennies to his name, Pennyroyal Press was born. In 1970, Moser published his first book under the imprint, The Death of the Narcissus: Eleven Botanico-erotic Etchings. The artist and author has gone on to illlustrate, design, and print hundreds of books, including 1983 American Book Award winner Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the only fully illustrated Bible of the twentieth century in 1999.

Barry Moser currently resides in West Hatfield, Massachusetts where he divides his time between designing, publishing, printmaking, painting and sculpting.

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