On February 18th, 2020, Maurice (or ‘Murray’, as he was known by some) Dorfman passed away at the age of 87. With no direct family to pass the business on to, 60 years of clothing manufacturing and haberdashery trading by the Dorfman family on Clapham High Street came to an end. It was the end of an era.
The memories and emotions that Maurice’s passing triggered amongst so many friends and customers from over the decades was inspiring; it was just so sad that Maurice had no idea how respected, admired, and appreciated he was by so many in the local community.
I had befriended Maurice in 2016 as part of my photo-essay, ‘48 Hours on Clapham High Street’, which featured Maurice (and his words opened the introduction to the exhibition and catalogue!). To pay one final tribute to Maurice, and to recognise his contribution in the community over 6 decades, and his kindnesses to so many people, I am assembling an exhibition to celebrate his life and the family business. This is a self-commissioned project; I am not receiving a fee for it. Instead I am doing it out of affection for this remarkable man.
I have now pieced together Maurice’s remarkable story (it really does feel like an enormous jigsaw puzzle in Maurice’s absence!), all the way from his birth in east London through to his passing in Clapham in February 2020. There is so much to tell and I am excited to be able to do this; contrary to how many of his customers saw him, he lived a wonderfully full life. The exhibition is being staged in Clapham Library, April 1st - May 28th, 2022; it is curated by Susanna Brown who curated the recent ‘Blockbuster’ Tim Walker exhibition at the V&A Museum. A 230 page book accompanies the exhibition.
You can find out much more about Behind the Shop Facade: The Life of Maurice Dorfman at the website dedicated to this story and the exhibition by clicking here.
Click an image below to scroll 12 images from the exhibition and book.