Moffett, Jack Harold
Jack Harold Moffett (September 18, 1922 - December 26, 2008) was an artist based in Los Angeles in the mid-late 20th century. He was born in Visalia, California but as a young boy moved with his family to Alameda County, first Berkeley and then Hayward. In 1940, Moffett returned to Visalia with his parents and soon afterwards he joined the military, stationed at the local Visalia Army Air Field; he eventually reached the rank of Sergeant. After the Second World War, Moffett and his wife Louise (née Lacoste) moved to the Los Angeles region, settling in Huntington Park. A local city directory from 1946 lists him as a cartoonist and the 1950 census noted him as an artist working for the County of Los Angeles. In 1956, Moffett was hired to establish the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Graphics Unit where he designed training manuals and drew composite sketches of cases. Moffett eventually hired assistants (usually sheriffs deputies with artistic talent) and was promoted to Graphic Arts Coordinator, retiring in 1982. The work Moffett began continues within the LASD with the position of Forensic Artist. While engaged in his work for LASD, in the late 1960s to early 1970s Moffett was contracted by Cooper Enterprises of La Jolla to produce a series of stunning bird's-eye views of locations in California and throughout the American West.
Dramatic view of Los Angeles and points east.
This is a c. 1970 Jack H. Moffett bird's-eye view map of greater Los Angeles, California. It provides a stunning overview of the region as it struggled to expand against imposing topographic limitations - keenly apparent here. (more details)