Elemore Morgan Jr.
August 6, 1931 - May 18, 2008
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art mourns the loss of artist Elemore Morgan Jr.
With a great sense of loss, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art announces that
Elemore Morgan Jr., one of the most important and respected artists in
Louisiana and the South, passed away on Sunday, May 18, 2008, at the
University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Md. Morgan Jr. died due to complications from the heart surgery he had in April, 2008. He
was 76 years old.
Elemore Morgan Jr. was celebrated for his colorful paintings of
vernacular architecture and panoramic vistas of the prairies of Southwestern
Louisiana. With the exceptions of the occasional Mississippi River scene and
New Orleans cityscapes, the majority of his paintings concentrated on a
30-mile-square area between Kaplan, Abbeville and Maurice, La.
Morgan was the only child born to Elemore Morgan Sr. and Dorothy
Golden Morgan on Aug. 6, 1931 in Baton Rouge, La. Morgan Sr., a prominent
photographer, often took Morgan Jr. on his travels throughout Louisiana. He
was known for his imgs of Louisiana landscapes, churches, folk culture and
people, immersing his son in the importance and beauty of his native state.
Morgan Jr. studied art at Louisiana State University, where teachers such as
printmaker Caroline Durieux, painter Ralston Crawford, and painter David Le
Doux shaped Morgan Jr.'s early artistic outlook. Morgan Jr. was a member of
the Air Force ROTC, and upon his graduation with a bachelor's degree in
1952, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force to serve in the
Korean War. During (rest and relaxation), Morgan Jr. traveled
throughout Korea and Japan, absorbing the culture, particularly that of the
art and architecture. In 1954, he attended the Ruskin School of Art at
Oxford University in England. Among his classmates were writer John Updike,
and artists Philip Morsberger and Ron Kitaj. He graduated in 1957.
After a few weeks of post-graduate travel in Europe, Morgan Jr.
returned to Louisiana, and in 1965 began teaching at University of
Louisiana/Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana University). Upon his
retirement in 1997, Morgan Jr. had influenced and mentored hundreds of
artists.
In 2006, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art had a retrospective of both his
and his father's work. A book, "Art and Life in Louisiana: Elemore Morgan
Sr. and Elemore Morgan Jr.," by David Houston, was published by the museum
to complement the exhibition.
Morgan Jr. whose paintings and photographs are in the museum's
collection -- was a familiar presence at the Ogden, and could often be seen
on the fifth-floor terrace working on paintings, some of which are in a show
currently at Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans, La. The museum also used
the painting, "View from the Prairie," for the poster and invitation for
its grand opening in 2003. A tribute installation of his work will open on
Thursday, May 22, in the museum's Kanner Gallery in the Stephen Goldring
Hall.
"Elemore was a great friend to the Ogden Museum, and to all of
us who work here," says museum director J. Richard Gruber. "His generous
spirit and grand artistic vision will be missed by all who knew him.
Elemore's art was rooted in the environment and culture of his native
Louisiana, passed on to him by his father, noted photographer Elemore Morgan
Sr. His love of this state and his understanding of its unique history
infused the entire range of his work, which will serve as a lasting legacy
for future generations."
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