Lucy Calista Morgan (1889–1981) was an American weaver and teacher. She is known for creating the

cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work, like a tailor. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the p ...

in North Carolina that would eventually become the Penland School of Craft. Morgan is considered an important part of the American Craft Revival that flourished in the first half of the 20th century.

Biography

Morgan was born on September 20, 1889, in

Macon County, North Carolina Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,014. Its county seat is Franklin. The Nantahala River runs through Macon County, flowing into the Little Tennessee River in ...

, one of nine children. She attended Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, graduating in 1915. She went on to teach in Michigan, Illinois, and Montana. For a time She was in Chicago, attending classes at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and working at the Children's Bureau of Chicago. While in Chicago Morgan learned about

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Hull House, named after the original house's first owner Charles Jerald Hul ...

and the

settlement movement The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in the United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity an ...

. In 1920 Morgan returned to North Carolina, where she took over supervision of the ''Appalachian Industrial School'' from her brother Rufus. She became interested in the traditional weaving in the area, inspired by a traditional ''Cat Track and Snail Trail'' pattern created by Susan Phillips. Morgan then took weaving classes at

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. It was integrated from as early as 1866 ...

. While in Berea, North Carolina, Morgan purchased several looms, which were shipped to Penland. In the mid-1920s Morgan founded the Penland School of Handicraft, now the Penland School of Craft. Morgan was a successful advocate of Appalachian crafts, adding pottery to the crafts produced. The crafts enjoyed good sales through the Great Depression. In 1933 Morgan organized an exhibition and sale at the

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Exposit ...

World's Fair in Chicago. In 1934 Morgan represented the Southern Mountain Handicraft Guild at the International Exhibition of Folk Arts in Berne, Switzerland. Morgan retired in 1962. She died on July 3, 1981, in Webster, North Carolina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Lucy Calista 1889 births 1981 deaths People from Macon County, North Carolina Crafts educators 20th-century American women textile artists Weavers from North Carolina Penland School of Crafts alumni Artists from North Carolina 20th-century American textile artists