Norma Morgan (1928–2017) was an American printmaker and painter. Her work is found in major collections worldwide and she has been highly recognized for her etchings and engravings, many of which were inspired by time spent in Great Britain.

Early life and education

Norma Gloria Morgan was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1929. She is

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. Her mother raised her, after the early death of her father, and worked as a domestic worker, a seamstress, and designer. Morgan showed interest in art from childhood, painting a classroom wall mural at the age of thirteen and receiving recognition for her painting, ''Reflections'', completed when she was seventeen. Following high school, she studied at the Whitney School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut two years at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may study f ...

, privately with

Hans Hofmann Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 – February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents, and is considered to have both preceded and influenced Abstrac ...

in her early 20s, and later with

Stanley Hayter Stanley William Hayter (27 December 1901 – 4 May 1988) was an English painter and master printmaker associated in the 1930s with surrealism and from 1940 onward with abstract expressionism. Regarded as one of the most significant printmakers ...

. It was Hayter who taught her engraving.

Career and life

Morgan received a fellowship to study in England in her twenties and spent much of her time exploring the Moors. This time inspired work that centered on natural imagery, especially skies and clouds. She went back to Great Britain in 1961 and stayed there until 1966. Her work was selected to represent the United States in the

First World Festival of Negro Arts The World Festival of Black Arts (French: ''Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres''), also known as FESMAN or FMAN, has been a series of month-long culture and arts festivals taking place in various parts of Africa. The festival features participant ...

, held in Dakar, Senegal, in April 1966. The other American artists included in this exhibition included Barbara Chase-Riboud (at that time known as Barbara Chase), Emilio Cruz,

Sam Gilliam Sam Gilliam ( ; November 30, 1933 – June 25, 2022) was an American abstract Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor, and Visual arts education, arts educator. Born in Mississippi, and raised in Kentucky, Gilliam spent his entire adult life in ...

, Richard Hunt,

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", an art form populariz ...

, and Charles White. She has won a distinguished list of awards for her work, including but not limited to the John Hay Whitney Fellowship; first prize at the Philadelphia Museum in 1955; Gold Medal, Graphics Award, National Academy of Arts & Letters; the Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant; three gold medals from the

American Artists Professional League The American Artists Professional League (AAPL) is an American fine art organization, established in New York City in 1928 by a group of painters, illustrators and sculptors. The AAPL is a nonprofit organization promoting traditional Realism in Am ...

, and the gold medal from Audubon Artists. Her work is in the collection of the

Academy Art Museum The Academy Art Museum is an art education and exhibition complex in Easton, Maryland. Its mission is to promote the knowledge, practice, and appreciation of the arts and to enhance cultural life on the Eastern Shore. History The organizatio ...

in Easton, Maryland. Morgan spent her active years living in both New York City, where she worked primarily on engravings in her apartment, and

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

, where she had space for large painting. She has a love of the outdoors and activities such as cross-country skiing and lake swimming. She also played mandolin, meeting with other musicians to play in

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department o ...

.
In interviews, Morgan has explained that her motivations for her artwork go "beyond" the black experience and feminist identity. Her works span Realism and Surrealism and fantasy, and feature figurative works of family members, landscape and vistas.

References

External links

Norma Morgan at the National Gallery of ArtNorma Morgan at the Museum of Modern Art, NYC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Norma 1920s births African-American women artists American women printmakers Artists from New Haven, Connecticut Art Students League of New York alumni 20th-century American artists 20th-century American women artists 20th-century American printmakers Living people African-American printmakers 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American artists 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women